Vigevano (; ) is a (municipality) in the

province of Pavia The province of Pavia () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of 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. History T ...

, in the Italian 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 ...

. A historic art town, it is also renowned for

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural district. Vigevano received the honorary title of city with a decree of Duke Francis II Sforza on 2 February 1532. It is famed for its

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

in the centre of the town. It is also known for the Rassegna Litteraria di Vigevano (Literary Review of Vigevano), an annual cultural event celebrating literature and the arts, which honours two distinguished personalities from the world of culture every year with the ''National Prize'' and the ''International Career Prize''.

History

The earliest records of Vigevano date back to 963, when for the first time is mentioned in documents the castle of Vigevano. Vigevano was given in 1154 by Emperor

Frederick 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 on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...

. Vigevano was accordingly besieged and taken by the Milanese in 1201 and again in 1275. In 1328 it finally surrendered to Azzone Visconti, and thereafter shared the political fortunes of Milan. The Church of San Pietro Martire (St Peter Martyr) was built, with the adjacent Dominican convent, by

Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447) was the duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan from 1412 to 1447. Reports stated that he was "paranoid", but "shrewd as a ruler." He went to war in the 1420s with Romagna, Republic of Florenc ...

in 1445. In the last years of Visconti domination it sustained a siege by Francesco Sforza. Once he was settled in power in Lombardy, Sforza arranged for Vigevano to be set up as the seat of a bishop and provided its revenues.

Demographics

Main sights

Castello Sforzesco

Vigevano is crowned by the

Castello Sforzesco The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...

, a stronghold rebuilt 1492–94 for Ludovico Maria Sforza ( Ludovico il Moro), the great patron born in the town, who transformed the fortification/hunting lodge of Luchino Visconti (who in turn had re-used a Lombard fortress) into a rich noble residence, at the cusp of Gothic and Renaissance.

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

was his guest at Vigevano, as was Bramante, who is ascribed with the tall tower that watches over the piazza from the Castello Sforzesco. The old castle has a unique raised covered road, high enough for horsemen to ride through, that communicates between the new palace and the old fortifications; there is a Falconry, an elegant loggiato supported by 48 columns, and, in the rear area of the mastio, the Ladies' Loggia made for Duchess Beatrice d'Este.

Piazza Ducale

Vigevano's main attraction is the Piazza Ducale, an elongated rectangle that is almost in the proportions 1:3, built for

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

, starting in 1492-93 and completed in record time, unusual for early Renaissance town planning. Piazza Ducale was actually planned to form a noble forecourt to his castle, unified by the arcades that completely surround the square, an amenity of the new North Italian towns built in the 13th century. The town's main street enters through a sham arcaded façade that preserves the unity of the space as at the Place des Vosges. Ludovico demolished the former palazzo of the commune of Vigevano to create the space. At the outside of town is the La Sforzesca, a rectangular villa-fortress with corner palace-towers, built in 1486 by Ludovico il Moro.

Cathedral

In the 17th century one end of the Piazza Ducale was enclosed by the concave

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

façade of the Cathedral, cleverly adjusted to bring the ancient duomo into a line perpendicular to the axis of the piazza and centered on it. The Cathedral was begun in 1532 under Duke Francesco II, who commissioned the design to Antonio da Lonate. The edifice was completed in 1606. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles, and houses works by Macrino d'Alba, Bernardino Ferrari and others, as well as tempera polyptych of the school of

. File:Vigevano-street01.jpg, A street in central Vigevano File:Vigevano0002.jpg, Bramante's Tower, Castello Sforzesco of Vigevano File:Vigevano01.jpg, Court of the Castello Sforzesco File:Vigevano03.jpg, The famous road-gallery in the Castello Sforzesco

Economy

For centuries, the city was a manufacturing centre, especially for the silk and cotton industry. The key sector of Vigevano industry is shoemaking. Handily shoemaking began to expand during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and, by the 1950s, Vigevano was known as Italy's "shoe capital".

People

* Abramo Ardizzi (de Arditiis or Ardiciis) (15th century), diplomat, ambassador, bishop and cardinal * Camilla Rodolfi (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1449), military commander of group of women defending Vigevano * Donato Bramante (1444–1514), architect and painter. He worked in Vigevano for Ludovico Sforza. *

Ludovico Sforza Ludovico Maria Sforza (; 27 July 1452 – 27 May 1508), also known as Ludovico il Moro (; 'the Moor'), and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini,

(1452–1508), Duke of Milan *

(1452–1519),

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

. He worked in Vigevano for Ludovico Sforza. * Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (1606–1682), mathematician and bishop of Vigevano * Riccardo Marchesini (born 1952), canoer * Giovanni Peroni, industrialist, who founded Peroni Brewery in Vigevano, in 1846 *

Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele D'Annunzio and Henr ...

(1858–1924), Italian actress, often known simply as Duse * Vito Pallavicini (1924–2007), lyricist, mostly known for being one of the two writers of ''"'' Azzurro''"'' * Guido Ferracin (1926–1973), athlete, European bantam weight boxing champion * Gian Carlo Rota (1932–1999), mathematician and philosopher * Margie Santimaria (born 1989), professional triathlete *Carlo Erba (1811–1888), founder of Carlo Erba Spa (merged with Farmitalia)

Twin towns

* Ficarra, Italy *

Matera Matera (, ; Neapolitan language, Materano: ) is a city and the capital of the Province of Matera in the regions of Italy, region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. With a history of continuous occupation dating back to the Palaeolithic (10th mi ...

, Italy *

Wenzhou Wenzhou; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

, People's Republic of China

References

Bibliography

External links

Photo gallery made by a UNESCO photographer

Vigevano – the ideal place for your Italian wedding
* {{authority control Castles in Italy