The so-called Republic of Crema ( it, Repubblica Cremasca) was a revolutionary

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in Lombardy, which was created when the French army entered

Crema Crema or Cremas may refer to: Crema * Crema, Lombardy, a ''comune'' in the northern Italian province of Cremona * Crema (coffee), a thin layer of foam at the top of a cup of espresso * Crema (dairy product), the Spanish word for cream * ''Cremà ...

on 28 March 1797. It ruled the local affairs of the city and its neighbourhood, which previously were a Venetian exclave in the Duchy of Milan. The municipality entered then into the

Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic ( it, Repubblica Cisalpina) was a sister republic of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organiz ...

in July 1797.

History

The city of

and its surroundings had been annexed by the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

since 1449, and had been ruled by a Venetian

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

for more than three centuries. On 28 March 1797 a troop of French dragoons entered and occupied the city (without facing any resistance) and arrested the last Venetian magistrate, the duke Zan Battista Contarini. A new municipality was formed to control the city, which was composed mostly of small landowners and local nobles. They proclaimed then the new Republic of Crema, that had the control of the town and the territories previously belonging to the province of Crema. The small revolutionary republic had a short life. Three months later, on 29 July 1797, its territory merged with the

and legally annexed to it on the base of the

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

, becoming part of the Adda department and later on the Alto Po one. Nowadays the territory of the former Republic of Crema goes from the municipality of

Spino d'Adda Spino d'Adda ( Cremasco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Spino d'Adda borders the following municipalities: Boffalora d ...

(east) to the

Castelleone Castelleone (; Cremonese dialect, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about northwest of Cremona. Castelleone borders the following m ...

one.

Flag and coat of arms

The republic used a simple white flag with the coat of arms.

References

Crema, Republic of History of Lombardy States and territories established in 1797 Client states of the Napoleonic Wars 1797 in Europe {{Italy-hist-stub

History

Flag and coat of arms

See also

References