Gravellona Lomellina (Gravalùna in the local variety of

Western Lombard Western Lombard is a group of dialects of Lombard, a Romance language spoken in Italy. It is widespread in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi ...

) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Pavia The province of Pavia ( it, Provincia di Pavia) is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy; its capital is Pavia. , the province has a population of 548,722 inhabitants and an area of ; the town of Pavia has a population of 72,205. ...

in the

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

region

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, located about 35 km southwest 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 ...

and about 35 km northwest of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

. It's an agricultural town (its main product is

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

). Gravellona Lomellina borders the following municipalities:

Cassolnovo Cassolnovo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 6,203 and ...

Cilavegna Cilavegna ( AFI : ; Western Lombard: ''Silavégna'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, at about 45 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Pavia. It has 5440 inhabitants. ...

, Tornaco,

Vigevano Vigevano (; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Avgevan) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pavia, Lombardy in northern Italy. A historic art town, it is also renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing ...

History

The very first traces of a settlement in this location date from the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, with the pre-Celtic

Golasecca culture The Golasecca culture (9th - 4th century BC) was a Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age culture in northern Italy, whose type-site was excavated at Golasecca in the province of Varese, Lombardy, where, in the area of Monsorino at the beginning of the ...

. Toponomy could be from the

etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

. A

Roman 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 letter ...

settlement is testified by some traces such as two coffins and some coins from the first Empire period. According to tradition, before the

Battle of Ticinus The battle of Ticinus was fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and a Roman army under Publius Cornelius Scipio in late November 218 BC as part of the Second Punic War. It took place in the flat country on the right bank of the ...

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

built the carthaginean camp amongst the nowadays towns of Gravellona,

and Piccolini, hamlet of

. During the

middle ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Gravellona belongs to the

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

, who gave executive power to Ingone. In 1152, Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa confirm feudal power to the "Barbavara" family, from

Valsesia Valsesia ( pms, Valsesia; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol''; it, Valle della Sesia) is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia. The major towns located h ...

. They ruled Gravellona until 1797. Gravellona came under the control of Pavia probably in 1164, and in 1250, the list of lands Pavia, it appears like Gravalona. In 1332 the castle of the counts in Gravellona, however, belong to Cavallazzi family, which, together with Barbavara and Tornielli, are the oldest feudal lords of Gravellona. In 1581, the population gravellonese stood about 1000 inhabitants. In 1532 Gravellona (who had since returned to the County of Novara) was joined to the new province of the County of Vigevano or Vigevanasco . In 1543, with the Vigevanasco, was absorbed from the domains of

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

, which since 1707 owned Lomellina. In 1818 the Vigevanasco was reunited with Lomellina, which in 1859 became part of the province of Pavia. Although in the province of Pavia, on the border of the Diocese of

, Gravellona belongs to the Diocese of Novara.

Economy

The main sector of the economy (as also of the neighboring municipalities of Lomellina) is agriculture. An intense

cultivation is allowed by the flow of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

, in particular from the Canal Quintino Sella. Other productions include

poplars ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

and

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

. There is also a small industrial area.

Culture

Starting from 1992, on the first weekend of June, Festival of Arts is a festival all around Gravellona, with some folkloristic and artistical events, and a brand new stationary work of art every year. Works exhibited include frescos and murals, shapes in wrought iron on the roofs, mosaics on the pavements and others.

Twin towns

Gravellona Lomellina is twinned with: *

Linards Linards (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in west-central France. Geography The river Briance forms part of the commune's southern border. Inhabitants are known as ''Linardais''. The commune of Li ...

, France

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Lombardy