Oltrepò Pavese
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The Oltrepò Pavese (; lmo, label=
Western Lombard Western Lombard is a group of dialects of Lombard, a Romance language spoken in Italy. It is widespread in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lo ...
, Ultrepò Paves) is an area of the
Province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. ...
, in the north-west
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
region of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, which lies to the south of the
river Po The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. Th ...
. It is ('beyond') the Po when considered from the provincial capital
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...
and in general from the rest of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
, hence the name.


Geography

Extending over an area of c. , it is roughly triangular in shape, with a base to the north formed by the Po and a southern apex at Monte Lesima (), a mountain of the Ligurian Apennines which is the highest point in the province. To the west it is bounded by the
Province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...
(
Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
) and to the east by the
Province of Piacenza The province of Piacenza ( it, provincia di Piacenza) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Piacenza. As of 2016, it has a total population of 286,572 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a popu ...
(
Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...
). The territory comprises a plain close to the Po, a hilly section, which rises from the Valle Staffora to the west and from the upper Val Tidone to the east, and a mountainous zone which in addition to Monte Lesima includes the peaks of Monte Chiappo (1700 m) Cima Colletta (1494 m) and
Monte Penice Monte Penice is a mountain of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna in Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea ...
(1460 m). The main watercourse is the
Staffora The Staffora is a river of the Oltrepò Pavese in the Province of Pavia, north-west Italy and a right-side tributary of the Po. It is probably the river known to the Romans as the Iria. Course The river rises in the Ligurian Apennines at the Fon ...
; other streams include the Ardivestra, the
Versa is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network solut ...
and the upper part of the Tidone, including part of the Lago di Trebecco reservoir. The principal settlements are
Voghera The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera ( Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy. The population was 39,374 ...
,
Casteggio Casteggio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 61 km south of Milan and about 25 km south of Pavia. As of 31 July 2010, it had a population of 6,537 and an area of 17.8  ...
,
Broni Broni is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km south of Milan and about 15 km southeast of Pavia. Broni borders the following municipalities: Albaredo Arnaboldi, Barbia ...
, Stradella, Santa Maria della Versa, Salice Terme and
Varzi Varzi is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km south of Milan and about 40 km south of Pavia. Varzi borders the following municipalities: Bagnaria, Fabbrica Curone, G ...
. The region became part of
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
in 1859.


Tourism

Though occasionally referred to as "the
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
of the North of Italy", Oltrepò Pavese is relatively unknown abroad. The area offers several attractions: rolling hills, medieval villages and castles, panoramic views, authentic Italian food and local wines. Oltrepò also happens to be the largest wine-producing area of Lombardy (and one of the largest in Italy), specializing in
Pinot Nero Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pin ...
. The landscape is scattered with vineyards that are freely accessible to hikers and mountain bikers.


Gastronomy

A well-known speciality of area are the local sparkling wines, whose various levels of carbonation are catogoized into three levels: ''vivace'', ''frizzante'', and ''spumante''. Both reds and whites can be sparkling to various degrees, and can be made in either a dry or sweeter style. The most famous local wine, the Bonarda, is fruity but not sweet, in contrast to Lambrusco, a red sparkling wine which often has higher
residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, whil ...
levels. A local, more 'classical' wine is the Buttafuoco, the production of which is restricted to a small area in the North of the Oltrepò. A typical sweet red wine of the area is the ''Sangue di Giuda''. A handful of regional spumantes—often made in the 'metodo classico' method, which originated in
Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
—have been vinted to a standard that qualifies them for
DOCG The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...
categorization. Regional dishes use the seasonal ingredients like mushrooms and
truffle A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziz ...
s, the local meats of rabbit, wild boar etc. One of typical dishes is the Sunday's "pranzo" or lunch in which all of the servings of the Italian menu (''
antipasti Antipasto (plural antipasti) is the traditional first course of a formal Meal structure in Italy, Italian meal. Usually made of bite-size small portions and served on a platter from which everyone serves themselves, the purpose of antipasti is ...
'', ''
primi The Pumi (also Primi) people (Tibetan: བོད་མི་, Wylie: bod mi, , own name: ) are an ethnic group. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by China. Ethnically related to the Tibetans of the Mili Tibetan Autono ...
'', '' secondi'', '' contorni'', '' dolci'') pass by, sometimes even twice. The Oltrepò region is also recognized for its cured meats, such as "coppa", and even has ''Varzi salame'', which is a protected product, much like
Parmesan cheese Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces A province is almost always an administrat ...
or
Prosecco Prosecco (; Italian: ) is an Italian DOC or DOCG white wine produced in a large area spanning nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions, and named after the village of Prosecco which is in the province of Trieste, Italy. It ...
.


Further reading

*


See also

*
Province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. ...
* Pavese *
Lomellina The Lomellina (Western Lombard: Ümlína/Lümelína) is a geographical and historical area in the Po Valley of northern Italy, located in south-western Lombardy between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers. It is one of three areal divisions of the ...


Sources

:''This article originated as a brief summary of its counterpart in the Italian Wikipedia.''


External links


Oltrepò Pavese official website7 Irresistible Reasons to Come and Visit the Oltrepo PaveseSome info on the Oltrepò PaveseApp for Smartphone with articles on the Oltrepò Pavese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oltrepo Pavese Province of Pavia Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geography of Lombardy