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Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum;
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...
: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
on the lower Ticino river
The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows.
It is one of the four ...
near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), existed under the control of the Germanic Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great killed and replaced Odoacer, ...
from 540 to 553, of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774, of the Kingdom of Italy from 774 to 1024 and seat of the Visconti court from 1365 to 1413.
Pavia is the capital of the fertile 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. ...
, which is known for a variety of agricultural products, including wine, rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
, cereals, and dairy products. Although there are a number of industries located in the suburbs, these tend not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the town. It is home to the ancient University of Pavia (founded in 1361 and recognized in 2022 by the Times Higher Education among the top 10 in Italy and among the 300 best in the world), which together with the IUSS (Institute for Advanced Studies of Pavia), Ghislieri College
The Ghislieri College (Italian: ''Collegio Ghislieri''), founded in 1567 by Pope Pius V, is the second-oldest college in Pavia and co-founder of the IUSS in Pavia as well.
History
Collegio Ghislieri is a 450-year-old Italian institution co ...
, Borromeo College ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
, Nuovo College, Santa Caterina College, and the (EDiSU), belongs to the Pavia Study System. The 15th-century Policlinico San Matteo
Policlinico San Matteo, known as Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, founded in 1449, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in Italy. It is located in the city of Pavia, about 35 km south of Milan. The hospital has over 3,3 ...
is one of the most important hospitals in Italy. Pavia is the episcopal seat
A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...
of the Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
Bishop of Pavia
The Diocese of Pavia ( la, Dioecesis Papiensis) is a see of the Catholic Church in Italy. It has been a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Milan only since 1817.churches and
Dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia was said by 
The town was built on flatted ground with square blocks. The " cardo Maximus" road corresponded to the current Strada Nuova up to the Roman bridge while the " decumanus" road corresponded to corso Cavour-corso Mazzini. Under most of the streets of the historic center there are still the brick ducts of the Roman sewer system which continued to function throughout the Middle Ages and the modern age without interruption, until about 1970. 
Pavia was important as a Military site ( near the city, in 271, the emperor Aurelian defeated the 
Pavia played an important role in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths that began in 535. After the Eastern Roman general 
Pavia and the peninsula of Italy did not remain long under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire, for in 568 CE a new people invaded Italy: the Lombards (otherwise called the Longobards). In their invasion of Italy in 568, the Lombards were led by their king Alboin (r. 560–572), who would become the first Lombard king of Italy. Alboin captured much of northern Italy in 568 but his progress was halted in 569 by the fortified city of Pavia. Paul the Deacon's History of the Lombards written more than a hundred years after the Siege of Ticinum provides one of the few records of this period: “The city of Ticinum (Pavia) at this time held out bravely, withstanding a siege more than three years, while the army of the Langobards remained close at hand on the western side. Meanwhile, Alboin, after driving out the soldiers, took possession of everything as far as Tuscany except Rome and Ravenna and some other fortified places which were situated on the shore of the sea.” The Siege of Ticinum finally ended with the Lombards capturing the city of Pavia in 572. Pavia's strategic location and the Ostrogoth palaces located within it would make Pavia by the 620s the main capital of the Lombards’ Kingdom of Pavia and the main residence for the Lombard rulers.
had the basilica of Santissimo Salvatore built in 657, which became the mausoleum of the kings of the 
As the kingdom's capital, Pavia in the late seventh century also became one of the central locations of the Lombards' efforts to mint their own coinage. The bust of the Lombard king would have been etched on the coins as a symbolic gesture so that those who used the coins, mostly Lombard nobles, would understand that king had the ultimate power and control of wealth in the Kingdom of Pavia.
The role of the capital implies the residence of the royal court, the presence of the central administrative structure of the kingdom, and the city’s pre-eminence over the other urban centres in the military organization of the seasonal wars.
The city of Pavia played a key role in the war between the Lombard Kingdom of Pavia and the Franks led by Charlemagne. In 773, Charlemagne king of the Franks declared war and invaded across the Alps into northern Italy defeating the Lombard army commanded by king
In 924, the Hungarians, led by the deposed Lombard king, Berengar I, besieged but did not conquer the city. With Otto II Pavia become the stable site of the court, first with queen Adelaide of Italy and then with the wife of Otto II 
Under the Treaty of Pavia, Emperor Louis IV granted during his stay in Italy the Electorate of the Palatinate to his brother Duke Rudolph's descendants. Pavia held out against the domination of
During the Franco-Spanish war, Pavia was besieged from 24 July to 14 September 1655 by a large French, Savoyard and Estense army commanded by 
In 1814, it again came under Austrian administration. In 1818 the works on the Naviglio Pavese were completed: the canal, conceived as a waterway between Milan, Pavia and Ticino and as an irrigation canal, contributed to the development of the city, so much so that a few years after its construction, in 1821, Borgo Calvenzano was built behind the Visconti Castle, a long series of arcaded buildings where there were warehouses, taverns, shipping and customs offices, hotels, stables, all in support of inland navigation. In 1820 the first steamships began to operate in the Pavia dock and, between 1854 and 1859, the Österreichischer Lloyd organized a regular navigation line, again using steamships, between Pavia, Venice and Trieste. With the Second War of Italian Independence (1859) and the unification of Italy one year later, Pavia passed, together with the rest of Lombardy, to the Kingdom of Italy. In 1894 Albert Einstein's father moved to Pavia to start a business supplying electrical materials, the Einstein. The Einsteins lived in the city in the same building (Palazzo Cornazzani) where 
Allied troops entered the city on April 30, 1945. At the institutional referendum of 2 June 1946 Pavia assigned 67.1% of the votes to the Republic, while the monarchy obtained only 38.2%.
The symbols of Pavia are the coat of arms, the banner and the seal, as reported in the municipal statute. The banner used by the modern city of Pavia faithfully reproduces the one used by the municipality of Pavia at least since the 13th century: a red banner with a white cross. This symbol, probably derived from blutfahne, the original flag of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, had a clear political meaning: to underline Pavia's belonging to the Ghibelline faction. The coat of arms of the municipality also depicts the cross which, starting from the end of the 16th century, began to be represented in an oval shape and within a rich frame, on top of which there is a mask with a crown count and often flanked by two angels holding the shield and the letters CO-PP (Comunitas Papie).
The seal of the municipality depicts the
From an elevation point of view, the city has various heights. The highest point is located in the area of the Visconti Castle, about 80 meters above sea level, and then slowly declines. From an altitude of 80 meters, you pass to 77 meters in about 500 meters. Downstream from Piazza Vittoria, where the
This dome is the third for size in Italy, after 
* '' San Michele Maggiore'' (St. Michael Major): This church is an outstanding example of Lombard-Romanesque church architecture in Lombardy. It is located, near the Royal Palace, on the site of a pre-existing Lombard church, which the lower part of the campanile belongs to.The basilica was founded by King Grimoald between 662 and 671. Destroyed in 1004, it was rebuilt from around the end of the 11th century (including crypt, transept and choir), and finished in 1130. It is characterized by an extensive use of sandstone and by a very long transept, provided with a façade and an apse of its own.The basilica was the seat of numerous important events, including the coronations of Berengar I (888), Guy III (889), Louis III (900), 
* '' San Teodoro'': This church was built in the Lombard period in 752 and was rebuilt in 1117 and dedicated to Theodore of Pavia, a medieval bishop of the Diocese of Pavia, is the third. albeit smaller, Romanesque basilica in Pavia. Situated on the slopes leading down to the 
*'' Castello Visconteo'': Built in 1360-1365 by Galeazzo II Visconti, this large castle served as a private residence rather than a stronghold. The poet 
*'' Santa Maria del Carmine'': This church is a well-preserved example of Gothic brickwork architecture in northern Italy. Built, between 1374 and 1461, on the Latin cross plan, it is the second largest Pavian church after the Duomo, with a perimeter of 80 x 40 meters comprising a nave and two aisles. The characteristic façade has a large rose window and seven cusps.
* '' Basilica of Santissimo Salvatore'': was founded in 657 by the Lombard king Aripert I as a mausoleum og kings of the 
* '' San Francesco d'Assisi'': This is a late Romanesque church (1238–98) with a restored Gothic façade, located on Corso Cairoli.
* '' San Giovanni Domnarum'': The church was founded by Queen Gundeberga, wife of Rothari, who was possibly buried in the church. The building, built on Roman baths, was almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century. The crypt (which incorporates Roman and Lombard remains) and the bell tower remain of the oldest church.
* '' Monastery of San Felice'': The monastery was founded by the Lombard king 
*'' Church of San Tommaso'': built on the remains of Roman baths, it is mentioned for the first time in an imperial diploma by Arnulf of Carinthia of 889. The church became the seat of the Dominican friars in 1302. Starting from 1320 work began for the construction of the new, and larger, church in the Gothic style, completed only in 1478. In 1786 the monastery was suppressed by
The 
The university's museum network is very vast, consisting of the University History Museum of the University of Pavia, divided between the Section of Medicine, where anatomical and pathological preparations, surgical instruments are also exhibited (the surgical paraphernalia of Giovanni Alessandro Brambilla) and life-size anatomical waxes, made by the Florentine ceroplast Clemente Susini and the Physics Section which houses the physics cabinet of Alessandro Volta (where hundreds of scientific instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries are exhibited, some belonging to Alessandro Volta).
The University's Museum of Archeology was established by Pier Vittorio Aldini in 1819 and houses prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan (including a collection of clay votive offerings donated by Pope
The Centro per gli studi sulla tradizione manoscritta di autori moderni e contemporanei (Formerly the "Research Center on the Manuscript Tradition of Modern and Contemporary Authors", also known as the "Manuscript Center"), founded by Maria Corti in 1980, is responsible for the conservation and to the study of modern and contemporary archival and bibliographic heritage. The center, among the most important of its kind in Italy, preserves collections of documentary material (manuscripts, typescripts, letters, first editions, libraries, photographs, drawings, furnishings, paintings and other objects) relating to writers, intellectuals, publishers, artists and scientists of the past two centuries. Among the archival collections preserved we remember those of Alberto Arbasino,
museums
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
, such as the well known Certosa di Pavia. The municipality of Pavia is part of the Ticino Valley Natural Park and preserves two forests (Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri
The Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri is a protected natural area owned by the University of Pavia in Italy.
History
The reserve is a small strip of the Po Valley that was donated to the University of Pavia in 1967 by Giuseppe Negri, a lum ...
and Bosco Grande nature reserve
The Bosco Grande is a nature reserve owned by the municipality of Pavia, Italy.
History
The Bosco Grande covers an area of about 22 hectares (corresponding to approximately 54,34 acres) southwest of Pavia, it represents one of the last remnan ...
) that they show us the original state of the nature of the Po valley before the arrival of the Romans, before human settlement.
Toponymy
In Roman times Pavia was called ''Ticinum
Ticinum (the modern Pavia) was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name (now the Ticino river) a little way above its confluence with the Padus ( Po).
It was said by Pliny the Elder to have bee ...
'', and it began to be called ''Papia'' only since Lombard times. The origin of the name Pavia is still uncertain today. It is one of the very few Roman Municipia
In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privil ...
in Italy that changed its name during the early Middle Ages.
History
Early history
Dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia was said by Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
to have been founded by the Laevi and Marici, two Ligurian, or Celto-Ligurian, tribes, while Ptolemy attributes it to the Insubres, a Celtic population. The Roman city, known as Ticinum
Ticinum (the modern Pavia) was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name (now the Ticino river) a little way above its confluence with the Padus ( Po).
It was said by Pliny the Elder to have bee ...
, was a municipality and an important military site (a castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
) under the Roman Empire. It most likely began as a small military camp built by the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio in 218 BCE to guard a wooden bridge he had built over the river Ticinum, on his way to search for Hannibal, who was rumoured to have managed to lead an army over the Alps and into Italy. The forces of Rome and Carthage ran into each other soon thereafter, and the Romans suffered the first of many crushing defeats at the hands of Hannibal, with the consul himself almost losing his life. The bridge was destroyed, but the fortified camp, which at the time was the most forward Roman military outpost in the Po Valley, somehow survived the long Second Punic War, and gradually evolved into a garrison town.
Its importance grew with the extension of the Via Aemilia
The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ' ...
from Ariminum (Rimini) to the Po River (187 BCE), which it crossed at Placentia (Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
) and there forked, one branch going to Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Roman city in northern Italy. The city was settled by the Insubres around 600 BC, conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, and ...
(Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
) and the other to Ticinum, and thence to Laumellum where it divided once more, one branch going to Vercellae
Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, a ...
- and thence to Eporedia and Augusta Praetoria - and the other to Valentia - and thence to Augusta Taurinorum (Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
).
The town was built on flatted ground with square blocks. The " cardo Maximus" road corresponded to the current Strada Nuova up to the Roman bridge while the " decumanus" road corresponded to corso Cavour-corso Mazzini. Under most of the streets of the historic center there are still the brick ducts of the Roman sewer system which continued to function throughout the Middle Ages and the modern age without interruption, until about 1970. Pavia was important as a Military site ( near the city, in 271, the emperor Aurelian defeated the Juthungi
The Juthungi (Greek: ''Iouthungoi'', Latin: ''Iuthungi'') were a Germanic tribe in the region north of the rivers Danube and Altmühl in what is now the modern German state of Bavaria.
The tribe was mentioned by the Roman historians Publius Her ...
) because of the easy access to water communications (through the Ticino and Po rivers) up to the Adriatic Sea and because of its defence structures.
In 325 Martin of Tours come to Pavia as a child following his father, a Roman officer. Pavia was the seat of an important Roman mint between 273 and 326.
The reign of Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustus ( 465 – after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, was Roman emperor of the West from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. Romulus was placed on the imperial throne by his father, the ''magister militum'' Orestes, and, at that time ...
(r. 475–476), the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire ended at Pavia in 476 CE, and Roman rule thereby ceased in Italy. Romulus Augustulus, while considered the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was actually a usurper of the imperial throne; his father Flavius Orestes dethroned the previous emperor, Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos (died 9 May 480), or simply Nepos, ruled as Roman emperor of the West from 24 June 474 to 28 August 475. After losing power in Italy, Nepos retreated to his home province of Dalmatia, from which he continued to claim the western im ...
, and raised the young Romulus Augustulus to the imperial throne at Ravenna in 475. Though being the emperor, Romulus Augustulus was simply the mouthpiece for his father Orestes, who was the person who actually exercised power and governed Italy during Romulus Augustulus' short reign. Ten months after Romulus Augustulus' reign began, Orestes' soldiers under the command of one of his officers named Odoacer, rebelled and killed Orestes in the city of Pavia in 476. The rioting that took place as part of Odoacer's uprising against Orestes sparked fires that burnt much of Pavia to the point that Odoacer, as the new king of Italy, had to suspend the taxes
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...
for the city for five years so that it could finance its recovery. Without his father, Romulus Augustulus was powerless. Instead of killing Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer pensioned him off at 6,000 solidi a year before declaring the end of the Western Roman Empire and himself king of the new Kingdom of Italy.
Odoacer's reign as king of Italy did not last long, because in 488 the Ostrogothic
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
peoples led by their king Theoderic
Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths.
Overview
The name ...
invaded Italy and waged war against Odoacer. After fighting for 5 years, Theoderic defeated Odoacer and on March 15, 493, assassinated Odoacer at a banquet meant to negotiate a peace between the two rulers. With the establishment of the Ostrogoth kingdom based in northern Italy, Theoderic began his vast program of public building. Pavia was among several cities that Theodoric chose to restore and expand. He began the construction of the vast palace complex that would eventually become the residence of Lombard monarchs several decades later. Theoderic also commissioned the building of the Roman-styled amphitheatre and bath complex in Pavia; in the seventh century these would be among the few still functioning bath complexes in Europe outside of the Eastern Roman Empire. Near the end of Theoderic's reign the Christian philosopher Boethius was imprisoned in one of Pavia's churches from 522 to 525 before his execution for treason. It was during Boethius' captivity in Pavia that he wrote his seminal work the ''Consolation of Philosophy''.
Pavia played an important role in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths that began in 535. After the Eastern Roman general Belisarius
Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terr ...
's victory over the Ostrogothic leader Wittigis
Vitiges or Vitigis or Witiges (died 542) was king of Ostrogothic Kingdom, Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540.
He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War (535–554), Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisarius had qui ...
in 540 and the loss of most of the Ostrogoth lands in Italy, Pavia was among the last centres of Ostrogothic resistance that continued the war and opposed Eastern Roman rule. After the capitulation of the Ostrogothic leadership in 540 more than a thousand men remained garrisoned in Pavia and Verona dedicated to opposing Eastern Roman rule. Since 540 Pavia become the permanent capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom
The Ostrogothic Kingdom, officially the Kingdom of Italy (), existed under the control of the Germanic Ostrogoths in Italy and neighbouring areas from 493 to 553.
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great killed and replaced Odoacer, ...
, stable site of the court and the royal treausure. The resilience of Ostrogoth strongholds like Pavia against invading forces allowed pockets of Ostrogothic rule to limp along until finally being defeated in 561.
Pavia and the peninsula of Italy did not remain long under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire, for in 568 CE a new people invaded Italy: the Lombards (otherwise called the Longobards). In their invasion of Italy in 568, the Lombards were led by their king Alboin (r. 560–572), who would become the first Lombard king of Italy. Alboin captured much of northern Italy in 568 but his progress was halted in 569 by the fortified city of Pavia. Paul the Deacon's History of the Lombards written more than a hundred years after the Siege of Ticinum provides one of the few records of this period: “The city of Ticinum (Pavia) at this time held out bravely, withstanding a siege more than three years, while the army of the Langobards remained close at hand on the western side. Meanwhile, Alboin, after driving out the soldiers, took possession of everything as far as Tuscany except Rome and Ravenna and some other fortified places which were situated on the shore of the sea.” The Siege of Ticinum finally ended with the Lombards capturing the city of Pavia in 572. Pavia's strategic location and the Ostrogoth palaces located within it would make Pavia by the 620s the main capital of the Lombards’ Kingdom of Pavia and the main residence for the Lombard rulers.
Lombard capital
Under Lombard rule many monasteries, nunneries, and churches were built at Pavia by the devout Christian Lombard monarchs. Even though the first Lombard kings were Arian Christians, sources from the period such as Paul the Deacon have recorded that the Arian Lombards were very tolerant of their Catholic subjects’ faith and that up to the 690s Arian and Catholic cathedrals coexisted in Pavia. Lombard kings, queens, and nobles would engage in building churches, monasteries, and nunneries as a method to demonstrate their piety and their wealth by extravagantly decorating these structures which in many cases would become the site of that person's tomb, as in the case of Grimoald (r. 662–671) who built San Ambrogio in Pavia and buried there after his death in 671. Aripert Ihad the basilica of Santissimo Salvatore built in 657, which became the mausoleum of the kings of the Bavarian dynasty
The Bavarian dynasty was those kings of the Lombards who were descended from Garibald I, the Agilolfing duke of Bavaria. They came to rule the Lombards through Garibald's daughter Theodelinda, who married the Lombard king Authari in 588. The Ba ...
. Perctarit
Perctarit (also Berthari) (died 688) was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 the first time and later from 671 to 688.
He was the son and successor of Aripert I. He shared power with his brother Godepert. He was a Catholic, whereas Godepert wa ...
(r. 661–662, 672–688) and his son Cunicpert (r.679–700) built a nunnery and a church at Pavia during their reigns. Lombard churches were sometimes named after those who commissioned their construction, such as San Maria Theodota in Pavia. The monastery of San Michele alla Pusterla located at Pavia was the royal monastery of the Lombard kings.
One of the most famous churches built by a Lombard king in Pavia is the church San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro
San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro ( Italian for "Saint Peter in Golden Sky") is a Catholic basilica (and a former cathedral) of the Augustinians in Pavia, Italy, in the Lombardy region. Its name refers to the mosaics of gold leaf behind glass tesserae tha ...
. This famous church was commissioned by king Liutprand (r. 712–744) and it would become the site of his tomb as well as two other famous Christian figures. In building San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro the unit of measurement used by the builders was the length of Liutprand's royal foot. The first important Christian figure interred at San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro was the previously mentioned philosopher Boethius, author of ''The Consolation of Philosophy'', who is located in the cathedral's crypt. The third and largest tomb of the three located in San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro contains the remains of St. Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine is the early fifth-century Christian writer from Roman North Africa whose works such as ''On Christian Doctrine'' revolutionized the way in which the Christian scripture is interpreted and understood. On October 1, 1695, artisans working in San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro rediscovered St. Augustine's remains after lifting up some of the paving stones that compose the cathedral's floor. Liutprand was a very devout Christian and like many of the Lombard kings was zealous about collecting relics of saints. Liutprand paid a great deal to have the relics removed from Cagliari and brought to Pavia so that they would be out of the reach and safe from the Saracens on Sardinia where St. Augustine's remains had been resting. Very little of Liutprand's original church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro consecrated by Pope Zacharias in 743 remains today. Originally the roof of its apse was decorated with mosaics, making San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro the first instance of mosaics being used to decorate a Lombard church. It is now a modern church with the only significant link to its antiquity being its round apse. The Lombards built their churches in a very Romanesque style, with the best example of Lombard churches from the period of Lombardic rule being the Basilica of San Michele still intact at Pavia.
As the kingdom's capital, Pavia in the late seventh century also became one of the central locations of the Lombards' efforts to mint their own coinage. The bust of the Lombard king would have been etched on the coins as a symbolic gesture so that those who used the coins, mostly Lombard nobles, would understand that king had the ultimate power and control of wealth in the Kingdom of Pavia.
The role of the capital implies the residence of the royal court, the presence of the central administrative structure of the kingdom, and the city’s pre-eminence over the other urban centres in the military organization of the seasonal wars.
The city of Pavia played a key role in the war between the Lombard Kingdom of Pavia and the Franks led by Charlemagne. In 773, Charlemagne king of the Franks declared war and invaded across the Alps into northern Italy defeating the Lombard army commanded by king Desiderius
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...
(r. 757-774). Between the autumn of 773 and June of 774 Charlemagne laid siege to Pavia first and then Verona, capturing the seat of Lombard power and quickly crushing any resistance from the northern Lombard fortified cities.
Pavia had been the official capital of the Lombards since the 620s, but it was also the place upon where the Lombard Kingdom in Italy ended. Upon entering Pavia in triumph, Charlemagne crowned himself king of the lands of the former Kingdom of Pavia. The Lombard kingdom and its northern territories from then onwards were a sub-kingdom of the Frankish Empire, while the Lombard southern duchy of Benevento
The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...
persisted for several centuries longer with relative independence and autonomy.
There is little information, but, again in the eighth century, a Jewish community was also present in Pavia: Alcuin of York
Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student ...
recalls a religious disputation that took place in the city between 750 and 766 between the Jew Julius of Pavia and the Christian Peter of Pisa.
Medieval history
Emperor Lothair I, king of Italy from 822 to 850, paid attention to schools when in 825 he issued hiscapitulary
A capitulary (Medieval Latin ) was a series of legislative or administrative acts emanating from the Frankish court of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties, especially that of Charlemagne, the first emperor of the Romans in the west since t ...
by means of which he prescrived that students from many towns of north Italy had to attend the lectures in the school of Pavia. In 924, the Hungarians, led by the deposed Lombard king, Berengar I, besieged but did not conquer the city. With Otto II Pavia become the stable site of the court, first with queen Adelaide of Italy and then with the wife of Otto II Theophanu
Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor O ...
m. During the Ottonian period Pavia enjoyed a period of well-being and development. The ancient Lombard capital distinguished itself from the other cities of the Po Valley for its fundamental function as a crossroads of important trade, both in foodstuffs and in luxury items. Commercial traffic was favored above all by the waterways used by the emperor for his travels: from Ticino the Po was easily reached, a direct axis with the Adriatic Sea and maritime traffic. Furthermore, with the advent of the Ottoni, Milan again lost importance in favor of Pavia, whose pre-eminence was sanctioned, among other things, by the minting of the Pavia mint. The importance of the city in those centuries is also highlighted by the account of the Arab geographer Ibrāhīm al-Turtuši, who traveled to central-western Europe between 960 and 965 and visited Verona, Rocca di Garda and Pavia, which he defined the main city of Longobardia, very populous, rich in merchants and entirely built, unlike other centers in the region, in stone, brick and lime. In Pavia, Ibrāhīm al-Turtuši, was very impressed by the equestrian statue of Regisole
The ''Regisole'' ("Sun King") was a bronze classical or Late Antique equestrian monument, highly influential during the Italian Renaissance but destroyed in 1796. It was originally erected at Ravenna, in what is now Italy, but was moved to Pavia ...
, which he places near one of the doors of the Royal palace and by the 300 jurists working inside the palace.
Also at the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries, the city was the birthplace of Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
, bishop, chronicler and diplomat in the service of Berengar II first and then of Otto I and Otto II and of Lanfranc, a close collaborator of William the Conqueror and, after the Norman conquest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom, reorganizer of the English church.
Pavia remained the capital of the Italian Kingdom and the centre of royal coronations until the diminution of imperial authority there in the 12th century. In 1004, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II bloodily suppressed a revolt of the citizens of Pavia, who disputed his recent coronation as King of Italy.
In the 12th century, Pavia acquired the status of a self-governing commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
. In the political division between Guelphs and Ghibellines that characterized the Italian Middle Ages, Pavia was traditionally Ghibelline, a position that was as much supported by the rivalry with Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
as it was a mark of the defiance of the Emperor that led the Lombard League against the emperor Frederick Barbarossa, who was attempting to reassert long-dormant Imperial influence over Italy. Frederick I celebrated two coronations in Pavia (1155 and 1162) in the basilica of San Michele Maggiore and resieded in a new imperial palace near the royal monastery of St. Salvatore. Several times the Pavia army fought with the emperor against the forces of the Lombard League, participating in the sieges of Tortona, Crema
Crema or Cremas may refer to:
Crema
* Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona
* Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso
* Crema (dairy product), the Spanish word for cream
* ''Cremà ...
and Milan and in other military operations.The city also had a reputation as a place to have a "good time," as witness the Archpoet
The Archpoet ( 1130 – c. 1165), or (in Latin and German), Jeep 2001: 21. is the name given to an anonymous 12th-century author of ten medieval Latin poems, the most famous being his "Confession" found in the manuscript (under CB 191). Along ...
's famous comments of 1163.
In the following centuries Pavia was an important and active town. Pavia supported the emperor Frederick II against the Lombard League and the Pavese army took part in numerous operations in the service of the emperor and participated in the battle of Cortenuova
The Battle of Cortenuova (sometimes spelled Cortenova) was fought on 27 November 1237 in the course of the Guelphs and Ghibellines Wars: in it, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II defeated the Second Lombard League.
Background
In 1235 Emperor F ...
in 1237.
Under the Treaty of Pavia, Emperor Louis IV granted during his stay in Italy the Electorate of the Palatinate to his brother Duke Rudolph's descendants. Pavia held out against the domination of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, finally yielding to the Visconti family, rulers of that city in 1359 after a difficult siege; under the Visconti Pavia became an intellectual and artistic centre, being the seat from 1361 of the University of Pavia founded around the nucleus of the old school of law, which attracted students from many countries. During the regency of Galeazzo II and Gian Galeazzo the memory of the capital's role and the Lombard traditions of Pavia jointly entered the “propaganda” of the new masters of the of Pavia: Galeazzo II moved his court from Milan to Pavia and between 1361 and 1365 Galeazzo II built a large palace ( Visconti castle) with a major Park (Visconti Park
Visconti Park (Parco Visconteo in Italian) was the private park of the Visconti and Sforza families, lords, and dukes of Milan. Located in Lombardy, northern Italy, it extended between the Pavia Castle and the Pavia Charterhouse. It covered an ...
), which became the official residence of the dynasty. In 1396 Gian Galeazzo commissioned the building of the Certosa, built at the end of the Visconti Park, which connected the Certosa to the castle of Pavia. The church, the last edifice of the complex to be built, was to be the family mausoleum of the Visconti. In 1389, by the will of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, some families of German Jews settled in Pavia, mainly active in financial activities. The Jewish community of Pavia grew in the 15th century, when Elijah ben Shabbetai, personal doctor of Filippo Maria Visconti and professor at the University of Pavia and, above all, Joseph Colon Trabotto, who was a 15th-century rabbi who is considered Italy's foremost Judaic
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...
scholar and Talmudist
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
of his era, and in the same university a Hebrew course was activated in 1490. Also in the fifteenth century, by the will of the Dukes of Milan, the University of Pavia experienced a phase of great development: it began to attract students from both Italy and other European countries and taught teachers of great fame, such as Baldo degli Ubaldi, Lorenzo Valla
Lorenzo Valla (; also Latinized as Laurentius; 14071 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator, scholar, and Catholic priest. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the ''Do ...
or Giasone del Maino.
Early modern
TheBattle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, ...
(1525) marked a watershed in the city's fortunes, since by that time, the former schism between the supporters of the Pope and those of the Holy Roman Emperor had shifted to one between a French party (allied with the Pope) and a party supporting the Emperor and King of Spain Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infa ...
. Thus, during the Valois- Habsburg Italian Wars, Pavia was naturally on the Imperial (and Spanish) side. The defeat and capture of King Francis I of France during the battle ushered in a period of Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
occupation. In the same years, he studied at the Girolamo Cardano
Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...
University of Pavia, while, probably in 1511, Leonardo da Vinci studied anatomy together with Marcantonio della Torre, professor of anatomy at the university. In 1597, by the will of Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
of Spain, the Jewish community of Pavia had to abandon the city.
During the Franco-Spanish war, Pavia was besieged from 24 July to 14 September 1655 by a large French, Savoyard and Estense army commanded by Thomas Francis, prince of Carignano
Thomas Francis of Savoy, 1st Prince of Carignano (; ; 21 December 1596 – 22 January 1656) was an Italian military commander and the founder of the Carignano branch of the House of Savoy, which reigned as kings of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 ...
, but the besiegers were unable to conquer the city. The Spanish period ended in 1706, when Pavia was occupied, after a short siege, by the Austrians led by Wirich Philipp von Daun Count Wirich Philipp von Daun (19 October 1669 – 30 July 1741) was an Austrian Field Marshal of the Imperial Army in the War of Spanish Succession, and father of the better known Leopold Josef Graf Daun. In 1710 he was created Prince of Teano.
...
during the War of the Spanish Succession and the city remained Austrian until 1796, when it was occupied by the French army under Napoleon. During this Austrian period the university was greatly supported by Maria Theresa of Austria and oversaw a culturally rich period due to the presence of leading scientists and humanists like Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet.
He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''.
Early life
Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...
, Alessandro Volta, Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...
, and Camillo Golgi, among others. In 1796, after the Jacobins demolished Regisole
The ''Regisole'' ("Sun King") was a bronze classical or Late Antique equestrian monument, highly influential during the Italian Renaissance but destroyed in 1796. It was originally erected at Ravenna, in what is now Italy, but was moved to Pavia ...
(a bronze classical equestrian monument), the inhabitants of Pavia revolted against the French and the revolt was quelled by Napoleon after a furious urban fight.
In 1814, it again came under Austrian administration. In 1818 the works on the Naviglio Pavese were completed: the canal, conceived as a waterway between Milan, Pavia and Ticino and as an irrigation canal, contributed to the development of the city, so much so that a few years after its construction, in 1821, Borgo Calvenzano was built behind the Visconti Castle, a long series of arcaded buildings where there were warehouses, taverns, shipping and customs offices, hotels, stables, all in support of inland navigation. In 1820 the first steamships began to operate in the Pavia dock and, between 1854 and 1859, the Österreichischer Lloyd organized a regular navigation line, again using steamships, between Pavia, Venice and Trieste. With the Second War of Italian Independence (1859) and the unification of Italy one year later, Pavia passed, together with the rest of Lombardy, to the Kingdom of Italy. In 1894 Albert Einstein's father moved to Pavia to start a business supplying electrical materials, the Einstein. The Einsteins lived in the city in the same building (Palazzo Cornazzani) where Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet.
He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''.
Early life
Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...
and Ada Negri had lived. The young Albert came to the family several times between 1895 and 1896. During his time in Italy he wrote a short essay with the title "On the Investigation of the State of the Ether in a Magnetic Field".
In 1943 Pavia was occupied by the German army. In September 1944, the US air forces carried out several bombings on the city with the aim of destroying the three bridges over the Ticino, strategic for supplying men. Weapons and provisions the German units engaged along the Gothic line. These operations led to the destruction of the Ponte Coperto
The Ponte Coperto ("Covered Bridge") or the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a stone and brick arch bridge over the Ticino River in Pavia, Italy.
The previous bridge, dating from 1354 (itself a replacement for a Roman construction), was heavily ...
and resulted in the deaths of 119 civilians. Allied troops entered the city on April 30, 1945. At the institutional referendum of 2 June 1946 Pavia assigned 67.1% of the votes to the Republic, while the monarchy obtained only 38.2%.
Symbols
The symbols of Pavia are the coat of arms, the banner and the seal, as reported in the municipal statute. The banner used by the modern city of Pavia faithfully reproduces the one used by the municipality of Pavia at least since the 13th century: a red banner with a white cross. This symbol, probably derived from blutfahne, the original flag of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, had a clear political meaning: to underline Pavia's belonging to the Ghibelline faction. The coat of arms of the municipality also depicts the cross which, starting from the end of the 16th century, began to be represented in an oval shape and within a rich frame, on top of which there is a mask with a crown count and often flanked by two angels holding the shield and the letters CO-PP (Comunitas Papie).
The seal of the municipality depicts the Regisole
The ''Regisole'' ("Sun King") was a bronze classical or Late Antique equestrian monument, highly influential during the Italian Renaissance but destroyed in 1796. It was originally erected at Ravenna, in what is now Italy, but was moved to Pavia ...
, an ancient late antique bronze equestrian statue originally placed inside the Royal Palace and, probably in the 11th century, placed in the cathedral square. The statue was pulled down by the Jacobins in 1796.
Geography
Topography
The Pavia municipality falls in the orographic system of the Po River valley formed after the alluvial filling of the wide of the gulf occupied by the Adriatic Sea before the Quaternary. A large part of the historic city center is located on the edge of the Ticino River. The city occupies an area of 62.86 km² west of Lombardy, located along the so-called " Karst spring’s belt", where there is the meeting, in the subsoil, between geological layers with different permeability, an aspect that allows the deep waters to resurface on the surface. The fluvial terrace on which Pavia stands appears engraved by two deep furrows due to the erosive action of twopostglacial
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
rivers, represented today by the Navigliaccio (originally occupied by the Calvenza) and by the Vernavola. The two valleys tend to converge just behind the area of the ancient city, so that primitive Pavia found itself on an almost isolated and difficult to reach trunk or stump of terrace, almost triangular in shape, which Ticino had to the south, the Calvenza and then the Navigliaccio to the north-west and the Vernavola to the north-east. From an elevation point of view, the city has various heights. The highest point is located in the area of the Visconti Castle, about 80 meters above sea level, and then slowly declines. From an altitude of 80 meters, you pass to 77 meters in about 500 meters. Downstream from Piazza Vittoria, where the cardo
A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented street.
...
and decumanus of the Roman city crossed, the slope becomes more pronounced, up to just under 60 meters above sea level near the Ponte Coperto
The Ponte Coperto ("Covered Bridge") or the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a stone and brick arch bridge over the Ticino River in Pavia, Italy.
The previous bridge, dating from 1354 (itself a replacement for a Roman construction), was heavily ...
.
The humidity of the area is quite high (75- 80% is the annual average), and this causes the typical fog, starting mainly during late autumn and winter.
Climate
Government
Main sights
Pavia's most famous landmark is the '' Certosa'', or Carthusian monastery, founded in 1396 and located eight kilometres () north of the city. Among other notable structures are: * Cathedral of Pavia (''Duomo
''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...
di Pavia''): Construction of the cathedral began in 1488, designed principally by Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance styl ...
, Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral
260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer.
Biography
Amadeo was born ...
, Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono; however, only by 1898 were the façade and the dome completed according to the original design. The central dome has an octagonal plan, stands 97 m high, and weighs some 20,000 tons. This dome is the third for size in Italy, after St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
and Santa Maria del Fiore
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
in Florence. Next to the Duomo were the Civic Tower (existing at least from 1330 and enlarged in 1583 by Pellegrino Tibaldi): its fall on March 17, 1989, was the final motivating force that started the last decade's efforts to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa
The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( it, torre pendente di Pisa), or simply, the Tower of Pisa (''torre di Pisa'' ), is the ''campanile'', or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unst ...
from a similar fate.
* '' San Michele Maggiore'' (St. Michael Major): This church is an outstanding example of Lombard-Romanesque church architecture in Lombardy. It is located, near the Royal Palace, on the site of a pre-existing Lombard church, which the lower part of the campanile belongs to.The basilica was founded by King Grimoald between 662 and 671. Destroyed in 1004, it was rebuilt from around the end of the 11th century (including crypt, transept and choir), and finished in 1130. It is characterized by an extensive use of sandstone and by a very long transept, provided with a façade and an apse of its own.The basilica was the seat of numerous important events, including the coronations of Berengar I (888), Guy III (889), Louis III (900), Rudolph II
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the Ho ...
(922), Hugh (926), Berengar II and his son Adalbert (950), Arduin (1002), Henry II (1004) and Frederick Barbarossa (1155).
* '' Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro'' ("St. Peter in Golden Sky"): In this church, St Augustine, Boethius and the Lombard king Liutprand are said to be buried. Construction was begun in the sixth century. The current construction was built in 1132. It is similar to San Michele Maggiore, but different in the asymmetric façade with a single portal, the use of brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...
instead of sandstone, and, in the interior, the absence of matronei, galleries reserved for women and the shortest transept. The noteworthy arch housing the relics of St. Augustine was built in 1362 by artists from Campione, and is decorated by some 150 statues and reliefs. The church is mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the X canto of his '' Divine Comedy''.
* '' San Teodoro'': This church was built in the Lombard period in 752 and was rebuilt in 1117 and dedicated to Theodore of Pavia, a medieval bishop of the Diocese of Pavia, is the third. albeit smaller, Romanesque basilica in Pavia. Situated on the slopes leading down to the Ticino river
The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows.
It is one of the four ...
, it served the fishermen. The apses and the three-level tiburium exemplify effective simplicity of Romanesque decoration. Inside are two outstanding bird's-eye-view frescoes of the city (1525) attributed to Bernardino Lanzani. The latter, the definitive release, was stripped off disclosing the unfinished first one. Both are impressively detailed and reveal how Pavia's urban layout has changed little in 500 years.
*'' Castello Visconteo'': Built in 1360-1365 by Galeazzo II Visconti, this large castle served as a private residence rather than a stronghold. The poet Francesco Petrarca
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
spent some time there, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti called him to take charge of the magnificent library which owned about a thousand books and manuscripts, subsequently lost. The Castle is now home to the City Museums and the park is a popular attraction for children. An unconfirmed legend wants the Castle to be connected by a secret tunnel to the '' Certosa''.
*'' Santa Maria del Carmine'': This church is a well-preserved example of Gothic brickwork architecture in northern Italy. Built, between 1374 and 1461, on the Latin cross plan, it is the second largest Pavian church after the Duomo, with a perimeter of 80 x 40 meters comprising a nave and two aisles. The characteristic façade has a large rose window and seven cusps.
* '' Basilica of Santissimo Salvatore'': was founded in 657 by the Lombard king Aripert I as a mausoleum og kings of the Bavarian dynasty
The Bavarian dynasty was those kings of the Lombards who were descended from Garibald I, the Agilolfing duke of Bavaria. They came to rule the Lombards through Garibald's daughter Theodelinda, who married the Lombard king Authari in 588. The Ba ...
, they were buried there Aripert I, Perctarit
Perctarit (also Berthari) (died 688) was king of the Lombards from 661 to 662 the first time and later from 671 to 688.
He was the son and successor of Aripert I. He shared power with his brother Godepert. He was a Catholic, whereas Godepert wa ...
, Cunipert
Cunincpert (also Cunibert or Cunipert) was king of the Lombards from 688 to 700. He succeeded his father Perctarit, though he was associated with the throne from 680.
Life
Soon after his assumption of the sole kingship, Cunincpert was ousted b ...
, Liutpert
Liutpert (or Liutbert) (died 702) was the Lombard king of Italy from 700 and to 702, with interruption. Upon succeeding his father, King Cunincpert, at a young age, he ruled together with his tutor, Ansprand, the duke of Asti. After eight month ...
and Aripert II. by the will of Adelaide of Italy Majolus of Cluny created a monastery near the church in 971. It was rebuilt between 1453 and 1511.
* '' Crypt of Sant'Eusebio'': The church was founded by King Rothari in the seventh century as the city's Arian cathedral. The church was demolished in 1923, but the crypt was preserved. The building, rebuilt in the 11th century, retains parts of the previous Lombard church, such as the capitals, very far from classical art.
* '' San Francesco d'Assisi'': This is a late Romanesque church (1238–98) with a restored Gothic façade, located on Corso Cairoli.
* '' San Giovanni Domnarum'': The church was founded by Queen Gundeberga, wife of Rothari, who was possibly buried in the church. The building, built on Roman baths, was almost entirely rebuilt in the 17th century. The crypt (which incorporates Roman and Lombard remains) and the bell tower remain of the oldest church.
* '' Monastery of San Felice'': The monastery was founded by the Lombard king Desiderius
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...
in 760. It was suppressed in 1785 and now houses some departments of the University of Pavia.
* ''Broletto In Middle Age Communes in Italy, a broletto was the place where the whole population met for democratic assemblies, and where the elected men lived and administered justice.
''Broletto'' is an ancient Italian word, from medieval Latin "broilum, bro ...
'': the palace was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, it was the seat of the city hall of Pavia until 1875 and now houses the IUSS School for Advanced Studies and is also used as the seat of temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.
* ''Old Campus of the University of Pavia
The Old Campus of the University of Pavia is a complex located in Pavia, in Lombardy, home to the rectorate and some university faculties and the University History Museum of the University of Pavia.
History and architecture
The University of P ...
'': created by Ludovico il Moro
Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini,
between 1485 and 1490, it was rebuilt and enlarged at the behest of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
from 1771 to 1787 on a project by Giuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il P ...
and Leopold Pollack. Other courtyards and classrooms were then added between 1819 and 1850. In 1932 the University incorporated the former San Matteo Hospital, built starting from 1451.
*'' Mirabello Castle'': The Castle lies in what was once the Parco Visconteo, near Mirabello di Pavia. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, it was the seat of the Captain of the Park, the authority administering the Parco Visconteo on behalf of the Visconti and Sforza families. Only a wing of the original castle has survived.
* '' Santa Maria di Canepanova'': This renaissance octagonal church is attributed to Bramante.
* '' Santa Maria in Betlem* '': founded in the 9th century, it was rebuilt and enlarged in 1130. Near the church there was a hospital for pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land and for this reason the church depended on the bishop of Bethlehem. The church is in Romanesque style.
* '' San Lanfranco'': founded in the 11th century, it was rebuilt in the first decades of the 13th century in Romanesque style, it preserves its interior the marble ark created by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral
260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer.
Biography
Amadeo was born ...
in 1489 to contain the relics of San Lanfranco Beccari.
*'' Church of San Tommaso'': built on the remains of Roman baths, it is mentioned for the first time in an imperial diploma by Arnulf of Carinthia of 889. The church became the seat of the Dominican friars in 1302. Starting from 1320 work began for the construction of the new, and larger, church in the Gothic style, completed only in 1478. In 1786 the monastery was suppressed by Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
and transformed into the General Seminary for the Austrian Lombardy. Giuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il P ...
, charged with adapting the complex to the new destination, heavily modified the church. A few years later, in 1791, the seminary was closed and the complex became a barracks, and it remained so until the 1980s, when it was sold to the University of Pavia.
* '' Santi Primo e Feliciano'': A 12th century Romanesque-style Catholic church.
* '' San Marino'': the church was founded by King Aistulf, who was buried in the church. It was modified several times over the centuries, but retains parts of the facade and apse of the original building.
* '' Towers of Pavia'': Characteristic of the historic center of Pavia is the presence of medieval noble towers that survive in its urban fabric, despite having once been more numerous, as evidenced by the sixteenth-century representation of the city frescoed in the church of San Teodoro. They were mostly built between the 11th and 13th centuries when the Ghibelline city was at the height of its Romanesque flowering. The towers present in Pavia, on the basis of historical and iconographic documentation, must have been about 65, of which about 25 survive.
* '' Teatro Fraschini'': opera house commissioned by 4 aristocrats from Pavia to Antonio Galli da Bibbiena between 1771 and 1773. In 1869 it was acquired by the municipality of Pavia and was dedicated to the Pavese tenor Gaetano Fraschini.
* ''Ponte Coperto
The Ponte Coperto ("Covered Bridge") or the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a stone and brick arch bridge over the Ticino River in Pavia, Italy.
The previous bridge, dating from 1354 (itself a replacement for a Roman construction), was heavily ...
'': is a stone and brick arch bridge over the Ticino River in Pavia, Italy. The previous bridge, dating from 1354 (itself a replacement for a Roman construction), was heavily damaged by Allied action in 1945. A debate on whether to fix or replace the bridge ended when the bridge partially collapsed in 1947, requiring new construction, which began in 1949.
* ''Collegio Castiglioni Brugnatelli
The Castiglioni College can be considered the oldest university college in Pavia. It was founded by Cardinal Branda da Castiglione in 1429.
History
In 1429 Cardinal Branda da Castiglione, who had studied at the University of Pavia, decided ...
'': the college was founded by Cardinal Branda da Castiglione
Branda da Castiglione (Castiglione Olona, 4 February 1350 – Castiglione Olona, 4 February 1443) was an early Italian humanist, a papal diplomat and a Roman Catholic cardinal.
Early career
He was born to a Milanese noble family related to Goff ...
in 1429. The building, in Gothic style, preserves inside a chapel frescoed by Bonifacio Bembo in 1475.
* '' Casa degli Eustachi'': is a small brick Gothic-style building built in the first decades of the 15th century by Pasino Eustachi, captain of the fleet of Gian Galeazzo and Filippo Maria Visconti.
* Palazzo Mezzabarba
Palazzo Mezzabarba is a palace in Pavia, Lombardy, a notable example of Lombard rococo, It has been Pavia's city hall since 1875.
History
The Mezzabarba are an ancient and noble family of Pavia, known since the twelfth century and which was awar ...
: built in the Rococo style between 1726 and 1732, since 1875 is the city hall of Pavia.
Culture
Museums
Pavia possesses a remarkable artistic treasure, a legacy of the city's prestigious past, divided into several museums.
The Pavia Civic Museums
The Civic Museums of Pavia (Musei Civici di Pavia) are a number of museums in Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy. They are housed in the Castello Visconteo, or Visconti Castle, built in 1360 by Galeazzo II Visconti, soon after taking the city, a ...
(located, in the Visconti Castle) are divided into various sections: Archaeological, which preserves one of the richest collections of Roman glass in northern Italy and important artifacts and archeological finds of Lombard period, such as the plutei of Teodota and the collection (the largest in Italy) of Lombard epigraphs, some of which belong to the tombs of kings or queens. Then there is the Romanesque and Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
section which exhibits sculptural, architectural and mosaic. The Romanesque collection is very rich, one of the largest in northern Italy, which also preserves important oriental architectural dishes from the Islamic and Byzantine East that adorned the facades of churches and buildings. Works by Jacopino da Tradate, Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral
260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer.
Biography
Amadeo was born ...
, Cristoforo and Antonio Mantegazza and Annibale Fontana are also exhibited. The Civic Museums also house the Risorgimento museum, dedicating particular space to the social, economic and cultural life of Pavia between the 18th and 19th centuries, the collection of African objects collected by Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti
Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (21 May 1855 – 31 May 1926) was an Italian explorer, geographer, cartographer and naturalist.
Biography
Robecchi Bricchetti was the illegitimate son of Ercole Robecchi, a land owner from Zerbolò, and a young sea ...
during his explorations and the numismatic collection, which houses more than 50,000 coins, most of them belonging to Camillo Brambilla, which cover a chronological period between the classical Greek issues and the minting of the modern period.
The Pinacoteca Malaspina (which is part of the Pavia Civic Museums) established by the Marquis Luigi Malaspina di Sannazzaro (Pavia 1754- 1834), houses works by important artists of the Italian and international scene, from the 13th to the 20th century, such as Gentile da Fabriano
Gentile da Fabriano ( – 1427) was an Italian painter known for his participation in the International Gothic painter style. He worked in various places in central Italy, mostly in Tuscany. His best-known works are his ''Adoration of the Magi ...
, Vincenzo Foppa, Giovanni Bellini, Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...
, Bernardino Luini
Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having ...
, Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
, Paolo Veronese, Guido Reni, Francesco Hayez
Francesco Hayez (; 10 February 1791 – 12 February 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and ...
, Giovanni Segantini and Renato Gottuso. The monumental wooden model of the Pavia cathedral
Pavia Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Pavia) is a church in Pavia, Italy, the largest in the city and seat of the Diocese of Pavia. The construction was begun in the 15th century on the site of two pre-existing Romanesque, "twin" cathedrals (Santo Stefa ...
from 1497 is also exhibited inside the picture gallery.
The university's museum network is very vast, consisting of the University History Museum of the University of Pavia, divided between the Section of Medicine, where anatomical and pathological preparations, surgical instruments are also exhibited (the surgical paraphernalia of Giovanni Alessandro Brambilla) and life-size anatomical waxes, made by the Florentine ceroplast Clemente Susini and the Physics Section which houses the physics cabinet of Alessandro Volta (where hundreds of scientific instruments from the 18th and 19th centuries are exhibited, some belonging to Alessandro Volta).
The University's Museum of Archeology was established by Pier Vittorio Aldini in 1819 and houses prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan (including a collection of clay votive offerings donated by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...
) and Roman (some from Pompeii).
The Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
of the University (Kosmos), housed inside Palazzo Botta Adorno, is one of the oldest in Italy, it was in fact founded by Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...
in 1771 and which preserves a naturalistic heritage of high scientific and historical value, including nearly 400,000 finds divided between the collections of zoology, comparative anatomy and paleontology.
Then there is the Golgi Museum, located in the same environments in which both Camillo Golgi and his students worked, rooms and laboratories that preserve both the original furnishings and the scientific instruments of the time, in order to allow the visitor to enter inside a 19th-century research center; while the Museum of Electrical Technique, built in 2007, illustrates the history of electrical technology within five sections.
Then come the Museum of Chemistry, that of Physics and the Museum of Mineralogy, founded by Lazzaro Spallanzani.
The Diocesan Museum, which will be located in the Romanesque crypt of Santa Maria del Popolo, is under construction.
Libraries and archives
The history of the municipality of Pavia, from the tenth to the twentieth century, can be told through the amount of documentation collected within the Archivio Storico Civico (established in 1895), which also contains collections containing the archives of many aristocratic families from Pavia and of city personalities, such as Gaetano Sacchi, Benedetto Cairoli andLuigi Robecchi Bricchetti
Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (21 May 1855 – 31 May 1926) was an Italian explorer, geographer, cartographer and naturalist.
Biography
Robecchi Bricchetti was the illegitimate son of Ercole Robecchi, a land owner from Zerbolò, and a young sea ...
. The Archivio di Stato (founded in 1959) also collect funds from noble archives (Beccaria, Bottigella, Belcredi, Malaspina) and more, such as the Mori collection, which collects the papers of Cesare Mori. Also preserved in the archive are the acts of the notaries of Pavia (1256-1907), the maps of the Teresian Cadastre of the Pavia area (18th- 19th centuries), and the archives of the university (1341-1897), of the San Matteo Hospital (1063- 1900), the Prefecture, the Police Headquarters and the Court. Equally important is the Archivio Storico Diocesano, which houses the documentation of the diocese of Pavia since the tenth century.
The Centro per gli studi sulla tradizione manoscritta di autori moderni e contemporanei (Formerly the "Research Center on the Manuscript Tradition of Modern and Contemporary Authors", also known as the "Manuscript Center"), founded by Maria Corti in 1980, is responsible for the conservation and to the study of modern and contemporary archival and bibliographic heritage. The center, among the most important of its kind in Italy, preserves collections of documentary material (manuscripts, typescripts, letters, first editions, libraries, photographs, drawings, furnishings, paintings and other objects) relating to writers, intellectuals, publishers, artists and scientists of the past two centuries. Among the archival collections preserved we remember those of Alberto Arbasino, Riccardo Bacchelli
Riccardo Bacchelli (; 19 April 1891 – 8 October 1985) was an Italian writer. In 1927 he was one of the founders of the review ''La Ronda'' and Bagutta Prize for literature. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature eight times.
Care ...
, Romano Bilenchi
Romano Bilenchi (9 November 1909 – 18 November 1989) was an Italian novelist, short story writer and essayist. He was born in Siena. He was involved with the resistance movement during the Fascist rule of Benito Mussolini. He was also active in t ...
, Emilio De Marchi, Ennio Flaiano
Ennio Flaiano (5 March 1910 – 20 November 1972) was an Italian screenwriter, playwright, novelist, journalist, and drama critic. Best known for his work with Federico Fellini, Flaiano co-wrote ten screenplays with the Italian director, including ...
, Alfonso Gatto, Tonino Guerra, Claudio Magris
Claudio Magris (born 10 April 1939) is an Italian scholar, translator and writer. He was a senator for Friuli-Venezia Giulia from 1994 to 1996.
Life
Magris graduated from the University of Turin, where he studied German studies, and has been a ...
, Luigi Meneghello, Eugenio Montale
Eugenio Montale (; 12 October 1896 – 12 September 1981) was an Italian poet, prose writer, editor and translator, and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Life and works
Early years
Montale was born in Genoa. His family were che ...
, Indro Montanelli
Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli (; 22 April 1909 – 22 July 2001) was an Italian journalist, historian and writer. He was one of the fifty World Press Freedom Heroes according to the International Press Institute.
A volunte ...
, Salvatore Quasimodo
Salvatore Quasimodo (; August 20, 1901 – June 14, 1968) was an Italian poet and translator. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own time ...
, Mario Rigoni Stern
Mario Rigoni Stern (1 November 1921 – 16 June 2008) was an Italian author and World War II veteran.Amelia Rosselli, Umberto Saba and Roberto Sanesi.
The library tradition of Pavia among its origins from the Visconteo Sforzesca Library, established in the second half of the fourteenth century by Gian Galeazzo Visconti in the Visconti Castle, where the precious illuminated manuscripts of the dukes of Milan were kept. In 1499, with the fall of 
In 1754, by the will of Empress Maria Theresa, the Biblioteca Universitaria was created, the most important in terms of book heritage in the city, which also preserves 1,404 manuscripts, 702 incunabula, 1,153 parchments (from 1103 to 1787), the 3,592 old prints, and 1,287 old geographical maps.
In 1887 the Biblioteca Civica Carlo Bonetta was established, the main seat of the library system of the city which is divided into eight loan and reading points distributed evenly over the entire municipal area.
Among the university libraries we should mention the Library of Humanistic Studies, born from the amalgamation of several libraries of the university's humanistic faculties, such as that of archeology (built in 1819), the Library of Science and Technology, where the library also merged of the Botanical Garden (established in 1773), the Law Library (1880), The Science Library, which also houses the volumes of the Medical and Surgical Society of Pavia (founded by Camillo Golgi in 1885), the Area Library Medica Adolfo Ferrata, the Political Science Library (built in 1925), the Economics Library and the Giasone del Maino College Library (born in 2000).
Among the second courses we should mention the ragò alla pavese, a local variant of the more famous 
Among the desserts, in addition to the well-known cake of paradise, the pumpkin pie (turtâ d'sücâ), the San Sirini, small round cakes made of sponge cake, abundantly soaked in rum and covered with dark chocolate, produced in the weeks around 9 December, the day of Saint Syrus, and sfâsö, typical pancakes cooked at carnival.
Clearly each course must be paired with wines from the nearby Oltrepò Pavese. Finally, despite being a typical Milanese dessert, the oldest and most certain attestation of the
* 
* Horti Borromaici: The Horti are a vast urban park, covering an area of about 3.5 hectares, located within the historic center of Pavia, between the
* The University of Pavia, one of the most ancient universities in Europe, was founded in 1361, although a school of rhetoric is documented in 825 making this center perhaps the oldest proto-university of Europe. The 
*The IUSS Pavia or the "Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori" of Pavia (Eng. ''IUSS School for Advanced Studies'') is a higher learning institute located in Pavia, Italy. It was founded in 1997 by the University of Pavia,
In addition, Pavia hosts the National Center for Androtherapy Oncology (CNAO Foundation), the first hospital and clinical and radiobiological research in the center in Italy (the fourth country in the world to set up one). It was set up in 2010 by the Ministry of Health and specializes in the treatment of radioresistant tumors through the use of particle therapy. The Center also carries out scientific research to identify effective tools in the fight against cancer.
The CNAO uses a synchrotron where particles are produced in two sources, these are pre-accelerated by a linear accelerator and sent to an injection line for transfer into the synchrotron ring, where they are further accelerated and extracted.
The city experienced a strong development of industry starting from the 1880s, so much so that it also hosted establishments of national importance, such as Necchi or the first large Italian factory of artificial silk and synthetic fabrics, the Snia Viscosa, built in 1905. In 1951 almost 27% of Pavia's workforce was employed in the industrial sector. Starting from the 70s of the twentieth century, the city underwent a sudden deindustrialization which led to the closure of many companies, especially those in the chemical and mechanical sectors, while those related to the food sector, such as Riso Scotti, pharmaceutical companies and related to packaging and labeling.
People born in Pavia include:
*
Originally published in 1907 by the University of Pennsylvania as History of the Langobards.
* Scott, Leader. ''The Cathedral Builders The Story of a Great Masonic Guild.'' London: S, Low, Marston and Company, 1899. Print. * Print. * Wickham, Chris. ''Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400 –1000.'' London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1981. Print.
Pavia – A historical city worth discovering
Pavia on the web
{{Authority control Burial sites of the House of Wessex Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Lombardy Former capitals of Italy Populated places on the Ticino (river)
Ludovico il Moro
Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; "the Moor"). "Arbiter of Italy", according to the expression used by Guicciardini,
, the king of France Louis XII
Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
took most of the manuscripts from the castle and they are now kept in the Bibliothéque Nationale de France in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Of the nearly one thousand manuscripts that made up the library, only one codex remained in Pavia: '' I Trionfi'' di Francesco Petrarca
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
kept in the Biblioteca Universitaria.
In the second half of the 16th century, three historic libraries arose in the city: that of the Episcopal Seminary and the libraries of the Borromeo and Ghislieri Colleges, founded respectively by Charles Borromeo
Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...
and Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
to allow access to the university (then the only one of all the Duchy of Milan) to promising young people, but with scarce economic resources. In 1754, by the will of Empress Maria Theresa, the Biblioteca Universitaria was created, the most important in terms of book heritage in the city, which also preserves 1,404 manuscripts, 702 incunabula, 1,153 parchments (from 1103 to 1787), the 3,592 old prints, and 1,287 old geographical maps.
In 1887 the Biblioteca Civica Carlo Bonetta was established, the main seat of the library system of the city which is divided into eight loan and reading points distributed evenly over the entire municipal area.
Among the university libraries we should mention the Library of Humanistic Studies, born from the amalgamation of several libraries of the university's humanistic faculties, such as that of archeology (built in 1819), the Library of Science and Technology, where the library also merged of the Botanical Garden (established in 1773), the Law Library (1880), The Science Library, which also houses the volumes of the Medical and Surgical Society of Pavia (founded by Camillo Golgi in 1885), the Area Library Medica Adolfo Ferrata, the Political Science Library (built in 1925), the Economics Library and the Giasone del Maino College Library (born in 2000).
Cuisine
Capital of a province in the shape of a bunch of grapes, as it was defined by Gianni Brera, there are many fruits that this land offers and which are the origin of various local dishes. The wealth of springs and waterways have made Pavia, and its territory, one of the main Italian centers for the production of rice, it is therefore no coincidence that there are numerous recipes that allow you to discover the thousand faces of this cereal. such as the Carthusian risotto, according to the legend created by the monks of the Certosa, based on crayfishes, carrots and onions, risotto with eye beans or the one with sausage and bonarda and risotto with common hops (ürtis in pavese dialect). Among the first courses, in addition to rice, the pavese soup also stands out, created, according to tradition, by a peasant woman with the few ingredients at her disposal (broth, eggs and cheese) to feed the king of France Francis I after the disastrous defeat at the gates of the city.Among the second courses we should mention the ragò alla pavese, a local variant of the more famous cassoeula
__NOTOC__
''Cassoeula'' (), sometimes Italianized as ''cassola'', ''cazzuola'' or ''cazzola'' (Western Lombard word for " trowel", etymologically unrelated), or ''bottaggio'' (probably derived from the French word ) is a typical winter dish popula ...
, lighter because it is cooked only with pork ribs, the stew alla pavese, the büseca (veal tripe alla pavese), marrowbones with peas (os büš cum i erbion) and escaped birds (üslin scapà) veal slices filled with bacon and sage. According to local tradition, meat, especially if boiled, is served together with two types of sauces: the peverata (already mentioned by Opicinus de Canistris in the fourteenth century) based on peppers, celery, anchovies and eggs, and the bagnet verd, prepared with parsley, anchovies, garlic and capers.
Alongside meat dishes, Pavia cuisine is also characterized by numerous freshwater fish dishes, such as eel alla borghigiana (which takes its name from the ancient suburb of the city on the other side of Ticino, after the Ponte Coperto
The Ponte Coperto ("Covered Bridge") or the Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge") is a stone and brick arch bridge over the Ticino River in Pavia, Italy.
The previous bridge, dating from 1354 (itself a replacement for a Roman construction), was heavily ...
), trout in white wine and omelette with bleak, without forgetting the frogs, inserted in risotto or served in stew, and snails, cooked with porcini mushrooms. Among the desserts, in addition to the well-known cake of paradise, the pumpkin pie (turtâ d'sücâ), the San Sirini, small round cakes made of sponge cake, abundantly soaked in rum and covered with dark chocolate, produced in the weeks around 9 December, the day of Saint Syrus, and sfâsö, typical pancakes cooked at carnival.
Clearly each course must be paired with wines from the nearby Oltrepò Pavese. Finally, despite being a typical Milanese dessert, the oldest and most certain attestation of the panettone
Panettone (, ; lmo, label= Milanese, panetton ) is an Italian type of sweet bread, and fruitcake, originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in South ...
is found in a register of expenses of the Borromeo college ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
of Pavia in 1599: on 23 December of that year in the list of courses provided for lunch Christmas costs also appear for 5 pounds of butter, 2 of raisins and 3 ounces of spices given to the baker to make 13 "loaves" to be given to college students on Christmas Day.
Parks and gardens
The municipality of Pavia is part of the Ticino Valley Natural Park and preserves two forests (Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri
The Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri is a protected natural area owned by the University of Pavia in Italy.
History
The reserve is a small strip of the Po Valley that was donated to the University of Pavia in 1967 by Giuseppe Negri, a lum ...
and Bosco Grande nature reserve
The Bosco Grande is a nature reserve owned by the municipality of Pavia, Italy.
History
The Bosco Grande covers an area of about 22 hectares (corresponding to approximately 54,34 acres) southwest of Pavia, it represents one of the last remnan ...
) that they show us the original state of the nature of the Po valley before the arrival of the Romans, before human settlement. To the north and east of the city, a small stream, originating from springs, the Vernavola, gives rise to a deep valley, escaped from urbanization, which is home to the Vernavola Park
The Vernavola Park is a nature reserve located in the municipality of Pavia, of which it is the largest green area. The park, about wide, takes its name from the Vernavola stream, a small watercourse about long and a tributary of the Ticino (riv ...
, while to the west, the green ring around Pavia is closed by the Sora Park. 9% of the surface of the municipality of Pavia is occupied by natural areas, parks or gardens (about 594 hectares, 1467 acres, of which 312 are covered with broad-leaved woods).
* Vernavola Park
The Vernavola Park is a nature reserve located in the municipality of Pavia, of which it is the largest green area. The park, about wide, takes its name from the Vernavola stream, a small watercourse about long and a tributary of the Ticino (riv ...
: large park, heir of the Visconti Park
Visconti Park (Parco Visconteo in Italian) was the private park of the Visconti and Sforza families, lords, and dukes of Milan. Located in Lombardy, northern Italy, it extended between the Pavia Castle and the Pavia Charterhouse. It covered an ...
, with an extension of 35 hectares located north of the city. The battle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, ...
in 1525 is fought in the park.
* Ticino Valley Natural Park: regional park located along the banks of the Ticino river from Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore (, ; it, Lago Maggiore ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh Maggior; pms, Lagh Magior; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; la, Lacus Verbanus) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest l ...
to the river Po. It forms a green belt around the city.
* Bosco Grande nature reserve
The Bosco Grande is a nature reserve owned by the municipality of Pavia, Italy.
History
The Bosco Grande covers an area of about 22 hectares (corresponding to approximately 54,34 acres) southwest of Pavia, it represents one of the last remnan ...
: the Bosco Grande covers an area of about 22 hectares (corresponding to approximately 54,34 acres) southwest of Pavia, it represents one of the last remnants of that lowland forest that in past times entirely covered the Po Valley and of which an important testimony remains in the Ticino Valley Natural Park.
* Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri
The Strict nature reserve Bosco Siro Negri is a protected natural area owned by the University of Pavia in Italy.
History
The reserve is a small strip of the Po Valley that was donated to the University of Pavia in 1967 by Giuseppe Negri, a lum ...
: the reserve is a small strip of the Po Valley that was donated to the University of Pavia in 1967 by Giuseppe Negri, a lumber dealer and a great lover of nature. The reserve is located near the Ticino, a few kilometers from the center of Pavia. The forest show us the original state of the nature before the arrival of the Romans, before human settlement. The reserve covers an area of 34 hectares, corresponding to approximately 84 acres.
* Sora Park: along the Ticino, to the North West, near the church of San Lanfranco is the Sora park, which extends for about 40 hectares, inside which there are several micro-environments of high environmental value.
* Horti Borromaici: The Horti are a vast urban park, covering an area of about 3.5 hectares, located within the historic center of Pavia, between the Collegio Borromeo ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
(which owns it) and Ticino, where the natural habitat is meets with contemporary art, knowledge and social inclusion. The park includes a vast naturalistic area, where over 3,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted, and an en plein air exhibition area of contemporary art, where works by: Arnaldo Pomodoro
Arnaldo Pomodoro (born 23 June 1926) is an Italian sculptor. He was born in Morciano, Romagna, and lives and works in Milan. His brother, Giò Pomodoro (1930–2002) was also a sculptor.
Pomodoro designed a controversial fiberglass crucifix fo ...
, Nicola Carrino, Gianfranco Pardi, Luigi Mainolfi, Mauro Staccioli
Mauro Staccioli (11 February 1937 – 1 January 2018) was an Italian sculptor.
Career
After studying at the Art Institute in Volterra, Staccioli started teaching and in 1968 joined the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan.
At the end of the ...
, Salvatore Cuschera, Marco Lodola, Ivan Tresoldi and David Tremlett
David Tremlett (born 13 February 1945 in St Austell, Cornwall) is an English/Swiss sculptor, installation artist and photographer. He lives and works in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, England. He is married to Laure Genillard who runs an art space in L ...
.
* Malaspina Gardens: public gardens in the historic center of the city (Piazza Petrarca), created, between 1838 and 1840, by the Marquis Luigi Malaspina as the English garden of his palace and a place for concerts and cultural events and retain a small temple and some neoclassical sculptures.
* Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia: established in 1773, it covers an area of 2 hectares. It is mainly organized in living collections of plants such as rose garden, tea bed, orchid greenhouse, tropical greenhouse, utility plant greenhouse (designed in 1776 by Giuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il P ...
), arboretum, plane trees, flower beds of native plants of the Lombard Plain, living collections of seeds and collections of desiccat.
Education
Schools
In 2021 there were over 45 schools of all types and levels, including: over 26 schools between Kindergarten and Primary schools (including one bilingual: Italian-English), 8 Lower secondary schools and 11 upper secondary schools. Some of these boast centuries of history, such as the Ugo Foscolo classical lyceum, originally started in 1557 near the convent of Santa Maria di Canepanova by theBarnabite
, image = Barnabites.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
, a ...
Fathers or the Liceo Scientifico Torquato Taramelli ( scientific lyceum), heir to the Normal Schools established in 1799.
Universities, colleges and other institutions
Pavia is a major Italian college town, with several institutes, universities and academies, including the ancient University of Pavia. Here is an incomplete list of the main institutions located in the city:
* The University of Pavia, one of the most ancient universities in Europe, was founded in 1361, although a school of rhetoric is documented in 825 making this center perhaps the oldest proto-university of Europe. The Old Campus
The Old Campus is the oldest area of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the principal residence of Yale College freshmen and also contains offices for the academic departments of Classics, English, History, Comparative Li ...
is a wide block made up of twelve courts of the 15th to 19th centuries. The sober façade shifts from baroque style to neoclassic. The ''Big Staircase'', the ''Aula Foscolo'', the ''Aula Volta'', the ''Aula Scarpa'' and the ''Aula Magna'' are neoclassic too. The ''Cortile degli Spiriti Magni'' hosts the statues of some of the most important scholars and alumni. Ancient burial monuments and gravestones of scholars of the 14th to 16th centuries are walled up in the ''Cortile Voltiano'' (most come from demolished churches). The ''Cortile delle Magnolie'' holds an ancient pit. The ''Cortile di Ludovico il Moro'' has a renaissance loggia and terracotta decorations. Both courts, as well as two more, were the cloisters of the ancient Ospedale di San Matteo. The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Pavia is the university's botanical garden. There is also the University History Museum and the Natural History Museum of Pavia.
*Borromeo College ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
(Ital. ''Almo Collegio Borromeo''), founded in 1561 by Carlo Borromeo
Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...
, is the oldest college at the University of Pavia in northern Italy.
*Ghislieri College
The Ghislieri College (Italian: ''Collegio Ghislieri''), founded in 1567 by Pope Pius V, is the second-oldest college in Pavia and co-founder of the IUSS in Pavia as well.
History
Collegio Ghislieri is a 450-year-old Italian institution co ...
(Ital. ''Collegio Ghislieri''), founded in 1567 by Pope Pius V, is the second ancient college in Pavia, with the other first being Almo Collegio Borromeo, and one of the most ancient colleges in Italy and co-founder of the IUSS, located in Pavia as well. Collegio Ghislieri is a 450-year-old Italian institution committed to promote University studies on the basis of merit, hosting around 200 pupils (males and females) who attend all faculties in Pavia State University, offering them logistic and cultural opportunities such as scholarships, lectures, conferences, a 100,000-volume library (third among private libraries in Northern Italy), and foreign languages courses. Each year about 30 new students coming from all over the country are selected by a public contest. Founded by Pope Pius V (Antonio Ghislieri) in 1567, since 18th century laically managed, nowadays under the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, it is ranked among high qualifying institutions by the Italian Ministry for Education and University.
*The IUSS Pavia or the "Istituto Universitario di Studi Superiori" of Pavia (Eng. ''IUSS School for Advanced Studies'') is a higher learning institute located in Pavia, Italy. It was founded in 1997 by the University of Pavia, Borromeo College ''For the former Borromeo College in the United States see Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology#Borromeo College''
The Almo Collegio Borromeo is a private university hall of residence (collegio) in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. ...
and Ghislieri College
The Ghislieri College (Italian: ''Collegio Ghislieri''), founded in 1567 by Pope Pius V, is the second-oldest college in Pavia and co-founder of the IUSS in Pavia as well.
History
Collegio Ghislieri is a 450-year-old Italian institution co ...
, supported by the Italian Minister of Education. It is shaped according to the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa model and reunites all the five colleges of Pavia, forming the Pavia Study System.
Healthcare
Although the ancient hospitals intended for the reception and treatment of the sick and travelers arose in the city at least from the 8th century, the first Pavia hospitals serving the entire city of which documented traces remain are the hospital of Santa Maria in Betlem (attested from 1130) and that of San Lazzaro (1157), which were operational for centuries. After 1449, they ceded their primary role to the San Matteo Hospital which became one of the most important Pavia institutions. The ancient dedication to San Matteo is still carried by the San Matteo Polyclinic, whose full name is the Fondazione IRCCSPoliclinico San Matteo
Policlinico San Matteo, known as Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, founded in 1449, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in Italy. It is located in the city of Pavia, about 35 km south of Milan. The hospital has over 3,3 ...
Hospital.
In addition to Policlinico San Matteoo Hosital, Pavia has five hospitals, including public and affiliated, specialist or general hospitals that cover the pathologies provided for by national protocols. Patients from other regions often resort to them. Among the hospitals, there are several that belong to the category of scientific hospitalization and treatment institutes, the so-called IRCCS. We recall, among the specialized ones, the Casimiro Mondino National Neurological Institute and the Maugeri Scientific Clinical Institute, while among the general hospitals the most important are the Institute of Care of the City of Pavia and the Santa Margherita Institute of Rehabilitation and Care. In addition, Pavia hosts the National Center for Androtherapy Oncology (CNAO Foundation), the first hospital and clinical and radiobiological research in the center in Italy (the fourth country in the world to set up one). It was set up in 2010 by the Ministry of Health and specializes in the treatment of radioresistant tumors through the use of particle therapy. The Center also carries out scientific research to identify effective tools in the fight against cancer.
The CNAO uses a synchrotron where particles are produced in two sources, these are pre-accelerated by a linear accelerator and sent to an injection line for transfer into the synchrotron ring, where they are further accelerated and extracted.Demographics
Starting from the 80s of the twentieth century Pavia has undergone a notable demographic involution due to the transfer of many families within the municipalities immediately bordering the capital. Within the urban agglomeration of the city of Pavia, according to calculations made by applying the international criterion of Functional Urban Areas, approximately 121,000 inhabitants would reside.Ethnic groups
According to the latest statistics conducted byISTAT
The Italian National Institute of Statistics ( it, Istituto nazionale di statistica; Istat) is the main producer of official statistics in Italy. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic ...
, approximately 14.54% of the population consists of non-Italians. About the 33% of the immigrant population consists of those of various other European origins (chiefly Romanian, Ukrainian, and Albanian), the remaining are those with non-European origins, chiefly Dominicans (5,99%), Egyptians (5,84%), Chinese (4,81%) and Cameroonian (4,03%).
Religion
The first religious confession in Pavia is the Catholic one, which, unlike other areas of Lombardy, is of the Roman rite, with the exclusion, within the city, of the church of San Giorgio in Montefalcone, entrusted to the Ukrainian community of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The second religious community is the Eastern Orthodox Church one, like the Romanian one in via Repubblica and the Greek Orthodox church of Sant'Ambrogio, in via Olevano. Then there is the Muslim, who finds herself in two Islamic cultural centers (via San Giovannino and Via Pollack), while for some time there have been places of worship for Protestants in Pavia, such as the Waldensian Church in via Alessandro Rolla, the Evangelical Church of Assemblies of God in via Angelo Ferrari, the Evangelical Church of Reconciliation in viale Cremona, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in via Grevellone and theKingdom Hall
A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii. Rutherford's reasoning was that these bui ...
of Jehovah's Witnesses in via Langosco.
Economy
Agriculture
The 63.3% of the surface of the municipality of Pavia (about 4,000 hectares) is destined for agriculture and in particular for the cultivation ofrice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
(about 2,400 hectares), which spread, starting from the 14th century, mainly in marshy land until it became, especially from the 18th century, the main cultivation. The large quantities of water required for the rice has meant that over the centuries a very dense irrigation network has been designed and built which still today characterizes the landscape of the Pavia countryside. It should also be noted that the city is the capital of the Italian province with the largest rice production in the country: over 84,000 hectares of the provincial land are used for paddy fields. 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. ...
alone produces as much rice as the entirety of Spain. The other crops present within the municipal area are that of corn and wheat (1,376 hectares), poplar groves (636 hectares), while very limited areas are used for meadows (158 hectares), orchards and vegetable gardens (29, 30 hectares). Still within the territory of the municipality of Pavia, there are still around fifty farms destined for agricultural activity, 18 of which host cattle farms, where about 820 heads are raised.
Industry
The city experienced a strong development of industry starting from the 1880s, so much so that it also hosted establishments of national importance, such as Necchi or the first large Italian factory of artificial silk and synthetic fabrics, the Snia Viscosa, built in 1905. In 1951 almost 27% of Pavia's workforce was employed in the industrial sector. Starting from the 70s of the twentieth century, the city underwent a sudden deindustrialization which led to the closure of many companies, especially those in the chemical and mechanical sectors, while those related to the food sector, such as Riso Scotti, pharmaceutical companies and related to packaging and labeling.
Transport
Pavia railway station
Pavia railway station ( it, Stazione di Pavia) serves the city and ''comune'' of Pavia, in the region of Lombardy, northern Italy. Opened in 1862, it forms part of the Genoa–Milan railway, and is also a terminus of four secondary railways, lin ...
, opened in 1862, forms part of the Milan–Genoa railway, and is also a terminus of four secondary railways, linking Pavia with Alessandria, Mantua, Vercelli and Stradella.
Pavia is also connected to Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
through the S13 line of the Milan suburban railway service
The Milan S Lines constitute the commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy.
The system comprises 11 lines serving 124 stations, for a total length of 403 km.
There are 415 trains per day with a daily ridership of a ...
with trains every 30 minutes. Pavia P. Garibaldi is a small railway station on the Pavia–Mantua railway.
Twin towns – sister cities
Pavia is twinned with: * Ayamé, Ivory Coast *Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...
, France
* Bethlehem, Palestine
* Hersbruck, Germany
* Hildesheim, Germany
* Vilnius, Lithuania
* Zakynthos
Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Z ...
, Greece
People
People born in Pavia include:
* Caterina Assandra
Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 – after 1618) was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun. In her surviving motet book, ''Motetti a due a tre voci op.2'', Assandra alludes to her birthplace being in the Province of Pavia. She became famous as an orga ...
(c. 1590 – after 1618), composer and Benedictine nun
* Bernardus Papiensis
Bernardus Papiensis (pre-1150 – 18 September 1213) was an Italian canonist and bishop of the Christian Church.
Born at Pavia, he studied law and theology at Bologna under Gandulphus and Faventinus. Later, he was provost of the cathedral of P ...
(pre-1150 – 18 September 1213), canonist and bishop
* Donato Conte de' Bardi (Active 1426– died 1450/1451), painter
* Belbello da Pavia (d. c. 1470), painter
* Monica Boggioni
Monica Boggioni (born 5 August 1998) is an Italian Paralympic swimming, Paralympic swimmer who competes in international level events. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning bronze medals in the Swimming at the 2020 Summer Paralymp ...
(born 5 August 1998), Paralympic swimmer
* Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli
Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli (also Luigi Gaspare Brugnatelli or Luigi Vincenzo Brugnatelli) (14 February 1761 in Pavia – 24 October 1818 in Pavia) was an Italian chemist and inventor who discovered the process for electroplating in 1805.
Ear ...
(1761-1818), chemist
* Federico Burdisso
Federico Burdisso (born 20 September 2001) is an Italian Swimming (sport), swimmer. He won a bronze medal in Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre butterfly, Men's 200 metre butterfly, and Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics ...
(born 20 September 2001), swimmer
* Epiphanias, 6th century saint
* Lanfranc (c. 1005–1089), abbot and Archbishop of Canterbury
* Gerolamo Cardano (1501–1576), scientist
* Ines Castellani Fantoni Benaglio, also known by the pseudonym of Memini (1849 -Azzate), writer
*Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
260px, Amadeo, Milan Cathedral
260px, The Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo (c. 1447 – 27 or 28 August 1522) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor of the Early Renaissance, architect, and engineer.
Biography
Amadeo was born ...
(1447-1522), sculptor, engineer and architect
* Benedetto Cairoli (1825–1889), twice head of the government
* Carlo M. Cipolla
Carlo M. Cipolla (15 August 1922 – 5 September 2000) was an Italian economic historian. He was a member of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.
Biography
As a young man, Cipolla wanted to te ...
(1922–2000), economic historian
* Francesco Corbetta (1615–1681), guitar virtuoso, teacher and composer
* Antonio Luigi Gaudenzio Giuseppe Cremona (7 December 1830 – 10 June 1903), mathematician.
* Tranquillo Cremona (1837–1878), painter
* Pietro Candido Decembrio (in Latin, Petrus Candidus Decembrius) (1399–1477), humanist
* Vincenzo degli Azani (died 16 July 1557), painter
* Aimone Duce
Aimone Duce (also called ''Aimo Dux'' and ''Aymo Dux'') was an Italian painter for the court of Savoy-Acaia, documented as active during 1417 and 1444. He is known for some frescoes painted in the churches of the Pinerolese: and the chapel of Mi ...
(15th century), painter
* Lorenzo Fasolo (1463–1518), painter
* Frederick V of Hohenstaufen (1164 – around 1170), duke of Swabia
* Gaetano Fraschini (1816 – 1887), tenor
* Virginia Giorgi (1914 – 1991), gymnast
* Pope John XIV
Pope John XIV ( la, Ioannes XIV; died 20 August 984), born Pietro Canepanova, was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from November 983 until his death.
Early career
Canepanova was born at Pavia. He was bishop of Pavia and served ...
(Latin: Ioannes XIV; died 20 August 984), born Pietro Canepanova, bishop of Rome
* Paolo Gorini (1813 – 1881), mathematician, professor, scientist, and politician
* Carlo Alessandro Guidi (1650 – 1712), lyric poet
* Liutpert
Liutpert (or Liutbert) (died 702) was the Lombard king of Italy from 700 and to 702, with interruption. Upon succeeding his father, King Cunincpert, at a young age, he ruled together with his tutor, Ansprand, the duke of Asti. After eight month ...
(or Liutbert) (died 702), Lombard king of Italy
* Liutprand of Cremona
Liutprand, also Liudprand, Liuprand, Lioutio, Liucius, Liuzo, and Lioutsios (c. 920 – 972),"LIUTPRAND OF CREMONA" in '' The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York & Oxford, 1991, p. 1241. was a historian, diplomat, ...
(c. 920 – 972), historian, diplomat, and Bishop of Cremona
* Gina Elena Zefora Lombroso (1872 – 1944), physician, writer, psychiatrist, and criminologist
* Bernardino Lunati (1452–1497), Roman Catholic cardinal
* Ambrogio Maestri (born 1970), operatic baritone
* Germana Malabarba (1913 – 2002), gymnast
* Enrica Malcovati (1894 - 1990), Classical philologist
* Cristoforo Mantegazza (c. 1430 – 1482), sculptor
* Clara Marangoni (1915 – 2018), gymnast
* Carlo Giuseppe Matteo Marangoni (1840 – 1925), physicist
* Pasquale Massacra (1819 – 1849), painter
* Mino Milani
Mino Milani (3 February 1928 – 10 February 2022) was an Italian writer, cartoonist, journalist and historian. During his career he also used several pseudonyms, including Stelio Martelli, Eugenio Ventura, Piero Selva, Mungo Graham Alcesti and ...
(1928 – 12022), writer, cartoonist, journalist and historian
* Mattia Bruno Moreni (1920–1999), sculptor and painter
* Cesare Mori (1871 – 1942), prefect
* Andrea Carlo Moro (born July 24, 1962), linguist, neuroscientist and novelist
* Claudia Muzio
Claudia Muzio (7 February 1889 – 24 May 1936) was an Italian operatic soprano who enjoyed an international career during the early 20th century.
Early years
Claudina Emilia Maria Muzzio was born in Pavia, the daughter of Carlo Muzio, an operat ...
(1889–1936), opera singer
* Tiziana Nisini (born 18 October 1975), politician
* Alberto Carpani
Alberto Carpani (23 April 1956 – 11 May 2020) was an Italian singer, best known for his Italo disco releases in the late 1970s and early 1980s as Albert One, and his Eurodance release "Sing a Song Now Now" in 1999 as A.C. One. He was also a DJ ...
(23 April 1956 – 11 May 2020), singer
* Mario Pascal
Mario Pascal (31 May 1896 – 6 November 1949) was an Italian applied mathematician, specializing in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics.
Pascal was born in Pavia into a family with origins in the French district of Tarascon, Mario Pascal was the so ...
(1896 – 1949), applied mathematician, specializing in fluid mechanics and aerodynamics
* Pietro Pavesi (1844 – 1907), professor of zoology
* Pietro Romualdo Pirotta (1853 – 1936), professor of botany
* Maria Poiani Panigati (born 17 March 1982), Paralympic swimmer
* Luigi Porta (1800 – 1875), surgeon and professor
* Giovanni Marchese di Provera, or Johann Provera, (1736 – 1804), served in the Habsburg army
* Andrea Re (born 15 November 1963), lightweight rower
* Arturo Riccardi (1878 – 1966), admiral
* Manfredi Rizza (born 26 April 1991), canoeist
* Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti
Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (21 May 1855 – 31 May 1926) was an Italian explorer, geographer, cartographer and naturalist.
Biography
Robecchi Bricchetti was the illegitimate son of Ercole Robecchi, a land owner from Zerbolò, and a young sea ...
(1855 – 1926), explorer, geographer, cartographer and naturalist
* Andrea Rocchelli
Andrea Rocchelli (27 September 1983 – 24 May 2014) was an Italian freelance photojournalist and founder of the independent photographers collective ''Cesura''. He was killed during the Donbas war and Ukrainian authorities were accused by his p ...
(1983 – 2014), freelance photojournalist
* Alessandro Rolla (1757 –1841), viola and violin virtuoso, composer
* Rotruda of Pavia (died after March 945), noblewoman
* Mauro Ruscóni (1776 - 1849), physician and zoologist
* Pier-Francesco Sacchi (known active 1512–1520), painter
* Bianca Maria Sforza
Bianca Maria Sforza (5 April 1472 – 31 December 1510) was Queen of Germany and Italy, and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire as the third spouse of Maximilian I. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan by ...
(1472 – 1510), Queen of Germany and Italy, and empress of the Holy Roman Empire
* Francesco Maria Sforza (30 January 1491 – 1512), nobleman
* Ippolita Maria Sforza (26 January 1493 – 1501), noblewoman
* Giuseppe Simoni (1944), biologist and scientist
* Giovanni Spertini (1821 - 1895), sculptor
* Giovanni Angelo Testagrossa (1470 – 1530), lutenist and singer
* Giovanni Battista Traverso
Giovanni Battista Traverso (1878-1959) was a mycologist and plant pathologist on the early 20th-century.
He was born in Pavia, Italy on October 25, 1878 and died on January 22, 1955 (Baldacci, 1959). He was interested in the flora since his earl ...
(1878- 1955), mycologist and plant pathologis
* Carolina Tronconi (1913 – 2008), gymnast
* Ines Vercesi (1916 – 1997), gymnast
* Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351 – 1402), first duke of Milan
* Valentina Visconti (1371 – 1408), countess of Vertus, and duchess consort of Orléans
* Violante Visconti (1354 – 1386), noblewoman
* Franco Vittadini (1884 – 1948), composer and conductor
* Rita Vittadini (1914 – 2000), gymnast
* Camillo Zemi (1898 – 1959), discus thrower and hammer thrower
*Max Pezzali
Massimo Pezzali (born 14 November 1967 in Pavia), commonly known as Max Pezzali, is an Italian singer-songwriter.
He was the principal singer and songwriter of the pop rock group 883. In 2004, he released his first solo album ''Il Mondo Insieme ...
(1967), singer and songwriter
People who have lived in Pavia include:
* St. Alexander Sauli
Alexander (Alessandro) Sauli, C.R.S.P. (15 February 1534 – 11 October 1592) was an Italian priest who is called the "Apostle of Corsica". He is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1571, he was appointed by Pius V to the ancient see ...
(1591–1592), Bishop of Pavia
* Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), scientist and inventor of the battery
* Simion Bărnuțiu
Simion Bărnuțiu (; 21 July 1808 – 28 May 1864) was a Transylvanian, later Romanian historian, academic, philosopher, jurist, and liberal politician. A leader of the 1848 revolutionary movement of Transylvanian Romanians, he represented its ...
(1808–1864), philosopher and politician
* Giacomo Trecourt (1812-1882), Italian painter
* Camillo Golgi (1843–1926), biologist and Nobel laureate
* Giovanni de Ventura (fl. 1479), plague doctor
A plague doctor was a physician who treated victims of bubonic plague during epidemics mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries. These physicians were hired by cities to treat infected patients regardless of income, especially the poor that could not ...
* Riccardo Pampuri (1897–1930), saint and medical doctor
* Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet.
He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''.
Early life
Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...
(1778–1827), Italian writer, revolutionary and poet
* Dionysios Solomos
Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
(1798-1857), national poet of Greece
* Zaira Ollano (1904–1997), physicist
* Dante Troisi (1920–1989), writer and judge
Among the illustrious scholars who studied or taught at the University of Pavia, the following are at least worth remembering: playwright and librettist Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), Gerolamo Cardano, mathematician Gerolamo Saccheri (1667-1733), Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet.
He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''.
Early life
Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...
, Alessandro Volta the inventor of the battery, biologist and physiologist Lazzaro Spallanzani
Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...
(1729-1799), anatomist Antonio Scarpa (1752-1832), physician Carlo Forlanini
Carlo Forlanini (11 June 1847 – 26 May 1918) was a medical doctor and professor at the Universities of Turin and Pavia. He was also the inventor of artificial pneumothorax, which was the primary treatment method of pulmonary tuberculosis for t ...
(1847-1918), the Nobel laureate biologist Camillo Golgi, the Nobel laureate chemist Giulio Natta (1903-1979) and Emanuele Severino
Emanuele Severino (26 February 1929 – 17 January 2020) was an Italian philosopher.
Biography
Severino studied at the University of Brescia and graduated at the University of Pavia under Gustavo Bontadini with the first Italian dissertation on ...
(1929-2020), one of the most important contemporary Italian philosophers.
See also
* Botanical Garden of Pavia * Pavese * Cimitero Monumentale di Pavia (Wikimedia Commons)Footnotes
Works cited
* Arnaldi, Girolamo. ''Italy and Its Invaders.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2005. Print. * Christie, Neil. ''The Lombards The Ancient Longobards.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: Basil Blackwell Inc., 1995. Print. * * Geary, Patrick J. ''Readings in Medieval History, vol. 1'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010. Print. * Moorhead, John. ''Theoderic in Italy.'' Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1992. Print. * Paul the Deacon. ''History of the Lombards.'' Translated by William Dudley Foulke, edited by Edward PetersOriginally published in 1907 by the University of Pennsylvania as History of the Langobards.
* Scott, Leader. ''The Cathedral Builders The Story of a Great Masonic Guild.'' London: S, Low, Marston and Company, 1899. Print. * Print. * Wickham, Chris. ''Early Medieval Italy: Central Power and Local Society 400 –1000.'' London: The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1981. Print.
Further reading
Published in the 19th century * * Published in the 20th century * * *External links
Pavia – A historical city worth discovering
Pavia on the web
{{Authority control Burial sites of the House of Wessex Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Lombardy Former capitals of Italy Populated places on the Ticino (river)