Pontida (

Bergamasque The Bergamasque dialect is the western variant of the Eastern Lombard group of the Lombard language. It is mainly spoken in the province of Bergamo and in the area around Crema, in central Lombardy. Bergamasque has official status in the p ...

: ) 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Bergamo The province of Bergamo (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bergamo. The province has a population of 1,103,768 (2023), an area of , and contains 242 ''comune, comuni'' (municipali ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

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 ...

, located about northeast of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and about northwest of

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,112 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute Istat. It has been the location of the Pontida's Oath on 7 April 1167. Pontida received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on 11 July 2006.

Geography

The municipality of Pontida contains the ''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Boffuro, Buttarello, Cà Barile, Cà Frosco, Cà Pietaglio, Canto, Cerchiera, Costa, Gaggio Sopra, Gaggio Sotto, Ghiringhello, Grombosco, Gromfaleggio, Massera, Metà Ripa di Sotto, Odiago, Roncallo, Sotto i Ronchi, Torchio, Valmora Pontida borders the following municipalities: Ambivere,

Brivio Kanye West, Brivio (Brianzöö: ; Bergamasque: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lecco, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. It is served by Olgiate-Calco-Brivio railway station. image:Brivio Castel.jpg, 250px, left, The Castle o ...

, Calco,

Caprino Bergamasco Caprino Bergamasco (Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,908 ...

, Carvico,

Cisano Bergamasco Cisano Bergamasco (Bergamasque: or ; Brianzöö: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Bergamo, Lombardy, northern Italy. See also * Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part ...

, Palazzago, Sotto il Monte Giovanni XXIII, Villa d'Adda.

Demographic evolution

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:4000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2011 text:2011 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:2323 bar:1871 from: 0 till:2332 bar:1881 from: 0 till:2373 bar:1901 from: 0 till:2462 bar:1911 from: 0 till:2624 bar:1921 from: 0 till:2747 bar:1931 from: 0 till:2751 bar:1936 from: 0 till:2633 bar:1951 from: 0 till:2724 bar:1961 from: 0 till:2661 bar:1971 from: 0 till:2666 bar:1981 from: 0 till:2680 bar:1991 from: 0 till:2672 bar:2001 from: 0 till:2934 bar:2011 from: 0 till:3210 PlotData= bar:1861 at:2323 fontsize:XS text: 2323 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:2332 fontsize:XS text: 2332 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:2373 fontsize:XS text: 2373 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:2462 fontsize:XS text: 2462 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:2624 fontsize:XS text: 2624 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:2747 fontsize:XS text: 2747 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:2751 fontsize:XS text: 2751 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:2633 fontsize:XS text: 2633 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:2724 fontsize:XS text: 2724 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:2661 fontsize:XS text: 2661 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:2666 fontsize:XS text: 2666 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:2680 fontsize:XS text: 2680 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:2672 fontsize:XS text: 2672 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:2934 fontsize:XS text: 2934 shift:(-8,5) bar:2011 at:3210 fontsize:XS text: 3210 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

History

Pontida's main claim to historical renown is due to the Oath of Pontida, signed there in 1167 and marking the foundation of the

Lombard League The Lombard League (; ) was an alliance of cities formed in 1167, and supported by the popes, to counter the attempts by the Hohenstaufen Holy Roman emperors to establish direct royal administrative control over the cities of the Kingdom of It ...

,Lexikon des Mittelalters: Band IV Seite 931 which nine years later would go on to defeat

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Frederick I Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

at the

Battle of Legnano The battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on 29 May 1176, near the town of Legnano, in present-day Lombardy, Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby was al ...

. The "Oath of Pontida" often inspired Italian nationalists during the 19th century

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

, struggling against the Austrian occupation, and seeing this historical event as a precedent and inspiration for their own struggle.

References

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