The Lomellina ( Western Lombard: Ümlína/Lümelína) is a geographical and historical area in the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

of northern Italy, located in south-western

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 ...

between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers. It is one of three areal divisions of the Province of Pavia.Lomellina (Office of Tourism of Lombardy)

Geography

Lomellina includes 58 '' comuni'' (municipalities), the most important today being Vigevano and Mortara; the name however derives from its ancient capital Lomello. The area is particularly renowned for its rice paddies:

the crop ''The Crop'' is a 2004 Australian comedy film set during the 1980s. Plot ''The Crop'', is set in the early 1980s in Australia, and is about larrikin nightclub owner, Ronnie 'Blade' Gillette (George Elliot), and his barmaid girlfriend Geraldine ...

has been cultivated here since the sixteenth century.

History

In ancient times Lomellina was inhabited by the Ligurian tribes of the Laevi, and the

Marici Marici may refer to: * Marici (Ligures), a Ligurian people of Gallia Transpadana * Marici (Buddhism), Buddhist deity * Marichi, masculine Sanskrit term for one of the Saptarshis * See also * Marich (disambiguation) {{Disambig ...

(co-founders of Ticinum, the modern Pavia) and the Libici (founders of Vercelli). Later they were

Romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

. Although crossed by an important road connecting Ticinum to Augusta Taurinorum (the modern Turin), the region seems not to have been intensively urbanized under the Romans, with the exception of the area of Vigevano. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the arrival of the Lombards, who set their capital in Pavia, Lomellina acquired importance, with a comital dynasty (''Conti di Lomello'') rising in Lomello. The city of Pavia conquered Lomello in 1146, and the area was later under the Visconti, as part of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

. In 1707, after the War of the Spanish Succession, a part of Lomellina was conquered by the Piedmontese

House of Savoy The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...

and made an autonomous province. The area of Vigevano and Robbio, called ''Contado di Vigevano'' and which had been autonomous since 1532, was also acquired by Piedmont in 1743. In 1859 the administrative reform promoted by Urbano Rattazzi annexed Lomellina to the province of Pavia just conquered from Austria, becoming later part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.

Gallery

File:Lago di Sartirana Lomellina, Pavia, Italy - Il canneto.jpg, The lake of

Sartirana Lomellina Sartirana Lomellina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km southwest of Milan and about 40 km west of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,837 and an ...

File:Fiume Po a Balossa Bigli, Pavia, Italy.jpg,

Po River The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...

near Balossa Bigli, a hamlet of Mezzana Bigli

References

External links

Lomellina official website

Lomellina portal
{{Authority control Province of Pavia Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geography of Lombardy History of Lombardy Geography of Piedmont History of Piedmont