Fossano, a town of Piedmont, Italy, on the left bank of the Stura, in the province and 13 m. N. N. E. of the city of Coni, and 34 m. S. by E. of Turin; pop. about 7,000. It is an antique, dismal, but regularly planned town, built on a high hill, surrounded by walls, and defended by a strong fortress which commands the valley of the Stura and the road into France by the Col d'Argentiere. The houses are built upon arches over the footpaths, and the passages in many places are so low that a tall person can hardly walk upright in them. It is the seat of a bishop, and has an academy of science and art, a veterinary school, a philharmonic academy, and a theatre. It was a walled place in the 13th century, was frequently attacked by the counts of Asti and Saluzzo, and early in the 14th century put under the protection of Philip of Savoy. It figured in the wars between Charles V. and Francis I. It was taken by the French in 1796, and in 1799 the French under Championnet were defeated here by the Austrians under Melas.