Paderno Ponchielli (
Soresinese: ;
Cremunés: ) is a ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in the
province of Cremona
The province of Cremona (; Cremunés dialect, Cremunés: ; ; Emilian dialects, Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital city is Cremona.
The province occupies the central section of Pa ...
, in
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, northern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Before the
unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...
in 1861, the town was known just as Paderno. After unification, the new government called on various municipalities with the same name to adjust and differentiate them. “Fasolaro” got added to the name Paderno. However, this did not meet with universal public approval as the word alluded to the production of common
cowpeas (black-eyed peas) widespread in the area, which was considered as a possible source of mockery in neighboring communities.
In 1878,
Umberto I, King of Italy
Umberto I (; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination in 1900. His reign saw Italy's expansion into the Horn of Africa, as well as the creation of the Triple Alliance among Italy, Germany and ...
, changed the name from Paderno Fasolaro to Paderno Cremonese. In 1928, when Paderno merged with the neighboring Ossolaro, the area took the name Paderno Ossolaro. Then, in 1934, with the celebration of 100th birthday of their native son, the composer
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera La Gioconda (opera), ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla.
Life and work
Born in Paderno Fasolaro ( ...
, the citizens petitioned to change the name to Paderno Ponchielli to honor him. On November 25, 1950, by a decree of the President of the Republic, Luigi Einaudi, the municipality came to be officially called Paderno Ponchielli.
References
Cities and towns in Lombardy
{{Cremona-geo-stub