Mortara () 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
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 ...
. It lies between the
Agogna
The Agogna (in Piedmontese ''Agògna'') is a stream which runs through the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy. It is a left side tributary of the river Po.''The Times'' (2003), ''Comprehensive Atlas of the World'', 11th edition, Times B ...
and
Terdoppio rivers, in the historical district known as
Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural center.
It received the honorary title of city with a royal decree in 1706.
History
The town has Roman origins proved by several archaeological discoveries and its first name was ''Pulchra Silva''. After the bloody battle during which
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
defeated the Longobard King
Desiderius
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...
in 773, its name changed. In the ''
Orlando Furioso
''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form ...
'' (second canto) it can be read:
Quivi cader de’ Longobardi tanti,
e tanta fu quivi la strage loro,
che ‘l loco de la pugna gli abitanti
Mortara dapoi sempre nominoro.
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto (, ; ; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic '' Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describ ...
, I cinque canti - canto II, 88
The prose translation sounds as follows:
"Here so many Longobards died and the slaughter of them was so great here that, from then on, the inhabitants gave the place of the battle the name of Mortara".
It prospered as a hunting place of pastimes thanks to
Gian Galeazzo Visconti
Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan (1395) and ruled that late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò V ...
, who decreed unsuccessfully to change its name into Beldiporto (1384). It was transformed by
Charles V into a fortress called «The Star» and in 1658 was besieged by the French-Piedmontese Army led by Francesco d'Este. It was restituted to Spain and remained a Spanish possession until 1706, when it was annexed to the
Savoy Kingdom. In the same year it became the capital of the Province of Lomellina. On March 21, 1849 it was the site of a
bloody Austro-Piedmontese battle just before the defeat of Novara.
Mortara is now an agricultural center of national importance for its rice production, but it is also an interesting and tasty gastronomical destination thanks to the goose sausages and products.
Main sights
*
San Lorenzo, Mortara: Gothic basilica with brick façade, was built (1375-1380) by
Bartolino da Novara and renovated in 1840 and 1916. Two 15th-century tondoes are found outside the main entrance. The pilaster strips depict ''SS. Albin, Amìcus and Amelius''; these are 19th-century copies of a 15th-century polyptych by
Paolo da Brescia, previously found in the Church of St Albin and now conserved in
Sabauda Gallery. Inside the church, to the right of the entrance, in the first span is a 15th-century fresco depicting the ''Virgin with Her Child''; in the 2nd span ''Virgin between Saints Roch and Sebastian'' (1524) attributed to
Gaudenzio Ferrari. In the first chapel is housed a panel by Bernardo Lanino, dated 1578 and representing ''The Lady of the Rosary'' crowned by 15 tablets by the same author illustrating the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. The niche is completed by four canvasses by G. C. Procaccini representing the ''Archangel'' and ''Our Lady of the Annunciation'', ''The Escape from Egypt'' and ''The rest of the Holy Family'', in addition to a ''Glory in Paradise'' attributed to
Camillo Procaccini. In the second chapel, above the altar, is a ''Crucifixion with Ss. Ambrogius, Laurentius and Mary the Magdalen'' (1610) by
Giovanni Battista Crespi (il Cerano). Left aisle, first chapel - Here we can find a magnificent wooden Christmas crib with about 80 low relieved figures (beginnings of the fifteenth century) by Lorenzo da Mortara. A ''St Charles in prayer'' and ''Ste Anne with Virgin'' attributed to Morazzone. Second chapel - There is the fifteenth-century polyptych on a six-parted table, a work by A. De Munini.
*
Santa Croce: founded in 1080, outside the walls under the patronage of Pope
Gregorius VII; after town expanded, rebuilt by
Tibaldi in 1596. Repairs in 1960s altered decoration. In the pilaster strip dividing 1st and 2nd chapels is an indentation in Carrara marble said to be a footprint of the Christ retrieved from the Holy Land during the Crusades. The 3rd chapel on the right hosts a ''Adoration of the Magi'' (1533) by
Bernardino Lanino. The 4th chapel houses a ''Saint Michael'' by
Guglielmo Caccia (''Il Moncalvo''). In the counterfaçade there are two watercolours (1545) depict a ''Virgin of Annunciation'' and ''Archangel Gabriel'', attributed to Vigevanese
Bernardino Ferrari. The 4th chapel on the left houses a ''Virgin with Child and Saints'' by the 16th-century Venetian school and a 15th-century fresco representing ''Saint Augustin''.
*
Santa Maria del Campo, located about west of Mortara, near road to Novara. Founded in 1145, now has Lombard-Gothic layout of the ''hall churches'', typical of Lomellina. Houses works attributed to
Giovanni Battista Crespi (il Cerano). The main altar has a fresco depicting a ''Glory of Angels-Musicians'', attributed to Cerano.
*
Sant'Albino, Mortara, one of the Christian «mother-churches» of the 5th century Lomellina, re-used by
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
as a burial ground for the numerous soldiers who fell in the battle between the Lombard and the Frank armies, on October 12, 773. Among the casualties there were also two paladins of Charlemagne's, Amelius of Alvernia and Amicus from Beyre, whose death inspired a lot of French chansons de geste. In 774 the famous abbot Alkwin Albin added a canonical college to the Church. During the Middle Ages Sant'Albino was a compulsory halting-piace for the pìlgrims going from Britain and France to Rome. The architectural style developed from an original mingling of the Romanesque style, clearly recognizable in the apse, with the Renaissance style, to be found in the façade and in the nave. Against the southern side of the portico of the façade, is a building, perhaps a part of the ancient monastery. Beside the church, there are the ruins of the cloister, a brick open gallery with wooden architraves and with a 14th-century Gothic window decorated with rural motives. In the interior, on the right wall, are three frescoes painted by
Giovanni da Milano in 1410 and representing ''Abbot St Anthony'', ''The Baptism of Jesus'', ''Enthroned Virgin with Saints Albin, Jacob, St. Augustine and Donor''. Another fresco, by an unknown painter working during the first half of the 15th century, can be seen under the triptych, representing ''St. Laurentius'' with the symbol of his martyrdom in his hand. Next to this fresco are located some visible marks carved in the bricks by the pilgrims to remember their passage: the most ancient readable date is the year 1100. Another anonymous fresco is on the left part of the presbytery and represents a ''Virgin with Child and Saints'';
*
Monumental Cemetery of Mortara
Notable people
*
Paolo Patrucchi
Paolo Patrucchi (born September 22, 1908 in Mortara) was an Italian professional football player.
He played for 3 seasons (46 games, 3 goals) in the Serie A
The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in ...
, footballer
*
Andrea Massucchi, gymnast
References
External links
Town website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortara (Town)
Cities and towns in Lombardy
1706 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire