Bobbio - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bobbio is a small town and commune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Piacenza

Province of Piacenza

The Province of Piacenza is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Piacenza.The province has 273,689 inhabitants . Its total area is 2,589 km². There are 48 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Piacenza...

in Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza

Piacenza

Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

. There is also an abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

and a diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

of the same name. Bobbio is the administrative center of the Comunità Montana Appennino Piacentino.

The small town of Bobbio is located in the heart of Val Trebbia, a valley described by Ernest Hemingway as the most beautiful in the world. The town is nestled at the foot of Monte Penice

Monte Penice

Monte Penice is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy....

(1,460 m.), on the left bank of the river Trebbia.
Its history is identified with the Abbey

Bobbio Abbey

Bobbio Abbey is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus...

founded in 614 by St. Columbanus

Columbanus

Columbanus was an Irish missionary notable for founding a number of monasteries on the European continent from around 590 in the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms, most notably Luxeuil and Bobbio , and stands as an exemplar of Irish missionary activity in early medieval Europe.He spread among the...

, which became one of the principal centers of religious culture in medieval Italy, home to a famous library and basilica. The possessions of the abbey in the Lombard and Carolingian eras spanned the north of Italy.
Bobbio is a coveted tourist destination known for its past of art and culture, for nature lovers and for its ancient monuments. It has from antiquity been a crossroads between different cultures, the Piacentine, Ligurian, Piedmontese and Pavian.
The historical center, the living heart of the city, has maintained the characteristics of the medieval village.
One town landmark, the Ponte Vecchio, called Ponte Gobbo (Hunchback Bridge), also known as the Devil's Bridge, is an ancient stone bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the river Trebbia in eleven irregular arches.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Penice located on top of Monte Penice

Monte Penice

Monte Penice is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy....

dominates the landscape, and is also popular in winter for it's ski resorts.
Historians have speculated that Bobbio was the town in which Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

completed the Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

Landscape and outskirts

Bobbio is 45 km away from Piacenza and from there you can reach it by taking the state road n. 45 road which connects Piacenza to Genova. From Pavia you can reach Bobbio from road n. 461 and Pass Penice.

From Bobbio taking the road to Piacenza in a few minutes you can reach the Barberino Orrido a wonderful overhanging on the river Trebbia

Trebbia

The Trebbia is a river predominantly of Liguria and Emilia Romagna in northern Italy. It is one of the four main right-bank tributaries of the river Po, the other three being the Tanaro, the Secchia and the Panaro...

. Going the same direction you enter the village of Mezzano Scotti and a few kilometers after the little village called Perino. It is an ideal starting point for visiting the Perino Valley or the ancient characteristic villages of Aglio and Pradovera which houses the remains of the castle of Erbia.

On the same road but in the direction of Genova, 4 km from Bobbio, is San Salvatore a little village with a wonderful view of the river meanders. A few kilometers upstream is Marsaglia and Brugnello with the ancient Church of Brugnello overlooking the river Trebbia.

From Bobbio taking the state road n. 461 for Pavia after 12 km you reach Passo Penice (1145 m) where there is a ski resort on the top of the Monte Penice

Monte Penice

Monte Penice is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy....

(1460 m). Here, also, is the ancient Virgin Penice Sanctuary with a view of the region; a few kilometers downhill, near Ceci, is a cross country ski run.

On the other side of the river just 10 km from Bobbio is the village of Coli situasted between beautiful pine woods and pasture fields.

The river Trebbia and the valley

The river Trebbia

Trebbia

is the backbone of Bobbio and its surrounding territory. It springs in Liguria on Mount Prelà and covers 120 km to reach the river Po

Po River

The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...

. Its waters are fresh, clean and run between stones and rocks outlining a twisting journey through wonderful overhanging and spectacular waterfalls.

The Trebbia valley is also one of the most interesting geological areas in Italy, well known among international scholars.

Common activities on the river include: hiking, swimming, canoeing, canyoning and fishing.
Trouts, balbels and chubs can be found in the river.

In summer, many people come to sunbathe along its beaches.

The territory around Bobbio is characterized by the Apennines which, apart from outlining a splendid landscape, influence the climate granting cool air in summer time and protecting the town from cold winds and fog in winter. On the surrounding mountains you can find cultivated fields, pastures but the woods are habitats for a number of critters (squirrel, dormouse, hedgehog, hare, badger, fox, wolf, wild boar, pheasant, partridge, and many birds) and where grow a great variety of trees and flowers (aromatic herbs, broom, beech, oak, pine, chestnut, spruce, larch).

History

Known to the ancients as Bobium or Ebovium, the town underwent many settlements from the Neolithic Age up to the contemporary one. Several archaeological finds testify to the presence of Liguri, Boii

Boii

The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...

(Gauls

Gauls

The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....

of Celtic origin), and from the fourteenth century B.C. the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

.

But the history of Bobbio is tied to the existence of the Abbey

Bobbio Abbey

founded in 614 by the Irish monk Saint Columbanus

Columbanus

(It. Colombano), who received the district from the Longobard King Agilulf

Agilulf

Agilulf called the Thuringian, was a duke of Turin and king of the Lombards from 591 until his death.-Biography:A relative of his predecessor Authari, he was selected king on the advice of the Christian queen and widow of Authari, Theodelinda, whom he then married...

.

Bobbio Abbey

Bobbio Abbey

(see main article) increased its possessions and became one of the principal seats of culture and religion of Northern Italy and a center of learning during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, and was renowned for its famous Scriptorium

Scriptorium

Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...

and Library

Library

In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...

. In the tenth century there were 700 codices; but its decline in the fifteenth century led to the dispersal of the library. The monastery was officially suppressed by the French in 1803.

This monastery is in part the model for the great monastery in Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

's novel The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

.

In 1014 Bobbio was erected a City and Episcopal See and surrounded by city walls that form the Contea of Bobbio.

The city lay in the region of Liguria

Liguria

Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...

but in 1230 Piacenza conquered Bobbio and its dominion lasted until the fourteenth century when the Contea of Bobbio passed, first, under the rule of the Malaspina

Taddea Malaspina

Taddea Malaspina was an Italian marchesa. She was the mistress of Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence from the early 1530s to about 1537 and was likely the mother of at least two of his children, Giulio di Alessandro de' Medici and Giulia de' Medici. Giulio de' Medici was associated with the...

, and then under the rule of the Visconti

House of Visconti

Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...

, the dukes of Milan.

In 1387 the city passed to the Dal Verme family and formed the Contea of Bobbio and Voghera; in 1516 the area formed the Marchesate of Bobbio.

The town became part of the domains of the House of Savoy

House of Savoy

The House of Savoy was formed in the early 11th century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy from 1861 until the end of World War II, king of Croatia and King of Armenia...

in 1748 after the Wars of Succession and formed the Province of Bobbio.

In 1796 the French arrived in Italy and only four years later Napoleon suppressed the monastery and sold its treasures.

From 1815 to 1859 Bobbio and its province were included into the Department of Genoa, then passed to Pavia and finally in 1923 to Piacenza.

On 7 July 1944, the partisan resistance in Italy

Italian resistance movement

The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...

conquered the town, formed the Republic of Bobbio and governed it autonomously until it was crushed by the Germans on 27 August, the same year.

The bishopric

Diocese

dates from 1014. On 30 September 1986, the Diocese was suppressed and merged with Archdiocese

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Genoa

The Archdiocese of Genoa is a metropolitan see of the Catholic Church in Italy.Erected in the third century, it was elevated to an archdiocese on 20 March 1133...

of Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

. Since 1989, Bobbio has been united with the Diocese of Piacenza to form the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio.

Main sights

1) The Saint Columbanus Abbey
Bobbio Abbey
Bobbio Abbey is a monastery founded by Irish Saint Columbanus in 614, around which later grew up the town of Bobbio, in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is dedicated to Saint Columbanus...

: Open to the public the long ground floor corridor, the main cloister; the service yard; the Abbey Museum, recently restored and enlarged, collects remarkable works and art objects of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, Medieval and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

Age, and Town Museum is a sort of didactic journey, whose admittance is from the southern wing of the cloister, the only one that guards the original portico.

- Saint Columbanus Basilica: it was built between 1456 and 1522 on the remains of the proto-Romanesque church of the tenth century. Frescos in the nave are by Bernardino Lanzani from the town San Colombano al Lambro (1527); the remarkable wooden choir in the Gothic style is dated 1488. In the crypt: a twelfth century floor mosaic; Saint Columbanus' marble sarcophagus made by Giovanni de Patriarchi (1480); two marble pluteos used as tombstones of Saint Attala
  Saint Attala
  Saint Attala was a disciple of Saint Columbanus and his successor as abbot of Bobbio Abbey.-Biography:...
  
  and Saint Bertulf; and a beautiful twelfth century wrought iron gate.

12) The Old Bridge: the 280 metre long Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge"), which spans the Trebbia by means of eleven unequal arches, is known to have existed before 1196 and may be of Roman origin. From its curious and irregular shape it is commonly called the ‘Hunchback Bridge’; also the ‘Devil’s Bridge’ after many legends: the famous legend tells that it was built by the Devil in one night after he made a pact with Saint Columbanus who promised him the soul of the first passerby; but when the bridge was finished the Irish Saint sent a dog.

The other legend is in which a man tricks Satan into rebuilding it overnight after it has been destroyed by a flood. In reality the bridge did need to be reconstructed after flood damage in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

2) The Malaspina-Dal Verme Castle: begun by Corradino Malaspina in 1304 on the hill overlooking the town, it remained for the duration of his rule a Ghibelline stronghold. Today it is a square-plan keep, two minor service towers and the defensive walls. By the castle affords a good view over the town and the surrounding countryside. In 1800, under the name of Castello Bobbium, the property and marquessate were purchased by the Piccinini family of Emilia-Romagna, who possessed them until 1956 when the castle and land was ceded by the Piccinini to the Italian State.

The Park of the Castle: the big park under the castle.

The Castellaro: the old historic quarter under the castle and the park.

3) The Cathedral: built in 1075, is the main religious edifice of the city. It has two majestic towers, which are original in the lower parts. The façade is from 1463 (the date in which a portico was demolished), with three portals in Gothic style. The cathedral presents modern decoration in the three naves and an eighteenth-century decoration in the presbytery and on the transept dome. Through the right transept you can reach Saint John chapel where there is a splendid fresco of the second half of the fifteenth century representing the Annunciation. The crypt houses the tombs of the bishops of Bobbio, and the chapel of Saint Antonio Maria Gianelli, bishop of Bobbio.

On the right side is the Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishop's Palace", 11th century), partially renewed in 1448; there are also the garden of cathedral.

On the left side is the Bobbio historical archives: sited into the premises of the Old Seminary, founded in the mid of the 12th century, they keep precious parchments and fragments of ancient codes dated from 9th century to 15th century. Available on microfilm the reproduction of all documents referred to Bobbio.

6) Saint Francis' church and Monastery: built according to the unrefined 13th century Saint Francis style. The monastery maintained the original shape while the church was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century in baroque style. Worth of mention is the beautiful inner cloister with squat pillars that sustain four crossvault covered spans on each side and over which runs a wooden loggia with precious medieval capitals columns.

4) Saint Lawrence church: built probably in the 12th century it was enlarged during the 17th century. Still visible on the left side are parts of the ancient building while on the right outer wall are two tablets also from the previous church.

7) The Virgin Mary's Help Sanctuary: it encloses the remains of the 15th century church decorated with a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. In 1611 it was said to have dripped sweat from the forehead. It was given the present baroque classical style in 1641.

Two museums are located within the abbey complex, one devoted to the abbey and one to the town. Among the exhibits is a much admired carved ivory "bucket" of the fourth century AD.

The Abbey Museum: It collects remarkable works and art objects of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, Medieval and Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

Age. Of Roman period: the Cocceia family sarcophagus, four cinerary urns, a pagan altar dedicated to Diana and an alabaster Hydra dating back to 3rd century. Other noteworthy pieces are the longobard stones, the Saint Cumiano tombstone (8th century), tin votive ampullae, the Orpheus ivory shrine and the wrought silver Saint Colunbanus bust. In the picture gallery a polyptyc by Luini representing the Assumption.

The Town Museum: sited in the ancient refectory and service room, is a didactic journey through the history of Bobbio and can be a sort of introduction to all the other historical places of the town. The first section is dedicated to the life and works of the Irish Saint, while the second section looks at the monastic complex from an architectonic point of view, on a computer runs a program for a virtual visit of the building, but it is also about the famous Scriptorium that made Bobbio the greatest cultural centre of northern Italy. The dressing made of light and transparent supports completed by multimedial means is perfectly integrated with the monumental space of the monastery and its educational aim.

8) The monastery of Santa Chiara and Palazzo Comunale.

11) The ex Saint Nicolas' Church.

The ancient Palaces Bobbiensis: Malaspina (10 into the map), Tamburelli, Olmi (9), Alcarini (5) (with the Teodolinda house), Calvi, etc.

The Therm of Bobbio.

The Carlone Valley with the thermal waterfall with thermal springs near the ancient middle ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

village San Cristoforo and the old escursonistic Sentiero medioevale per il Santuario del Monte Penice: 5 km. from Bobbio.

Thermal springs

In the outskirts of Bobbio there are many water springs rich in sodium chloride, bromine and iodine. When their curative properties where not known these waters were exploited to obtain salt. Indeed, already during the Longobard Age, the army leader Sundrarit enjoyed the income of the salt-works sited on the right side of the river Trebbia

Trebbia

. Now in San Martino, 1.5 km. from the centre of the town, the spa building Therm of Bobbio, first opened in July 1904, is being restored. In June 2010 it will see the creation of a modern health clinic and a beauty farm where diseases of the respiratory system and dermatological ones will be treated.

Bobbio in literature and cinema

The director Marco Bellocchio, whose family is originally from Bobbio, shot in the city and close to his first film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

of success, Fists in the Pocket
Fists in the Pocket
Fists in the Pocket is a 1965 Italian film directed by Marco Bellocchio. It was Bellocchio's debut film.In an interview, writer Rex Pickett described Fists in the Pocket as one of the films he "saw in film school that transformed" him.- Synopsis :A young man takes drastic measures to rid his...

. Many bobbies starred in the film as extras. He also edited each year cultural activities related to cinema, particularly by the Laboratory Farecinema and Bobbio Film Festival (with performances in summer).
The monastery of Bobbio and its library – the richest of the early centuries of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

– are mentioned in the novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

by Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

The name of the rose
The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

.

Bobbio Film Festival

The town of Bobbio has its own film festival director Marco Bellocchio is born from the Laboratory Farecinema, and would eventually become the film competition Bobbio Film Festival.
"Farecinema – meet the authors" is the brainchild of Maestro Marco Bellocchio who wanted to create in his hometown, Bobbio, a laboratory for teaching the art of film direction.
Already the first edition was held, parallel to the laboratory, an evening film festival open to the public with a film club at the end of screenings where people participated representing the film projected.
In 2005 becomes the exhibition Festival, taking the name of "Bobbio Film Festival" and Marco Bellocchio establishing the award "The Hunchback of Gold" in reference to symbols of Bobbio, the medieval Ponte Gobbo, which will reward the film judged the best among those proposed.
To review films that work as he moved in the cloister of Saint Columban, where traditionally takes the event.
In parallel, the laboratory continues Farecinema that will become a film school and acting, and the town of Bobbio and its also become a movie set with the possibility of participation of extras also taken from the street.

Literary Contest

From 2008 the local newspaper publisher and Pontegobbo piacentino Freedom indicate a literary competition open to young Italian and foreign writers of fiction and poetry. The competition from a young unsigned talent and contribute to emerge and become known and appreciated by audiences and critics. Or experts will be recognized and awards for top entries there will be opportunities for public amenities, while those who are established as the winner will get free advertising and inclusion in all contexts of narrative. Piazza Santa Fara parallel in the porch of Saint Columban, the event is held in Piazza managed by Pontegobbo Books, with the chance to meet and buy works of historical fiction local tourism.

Music and dancing

Positioned in the heart of four provinces (Alessandria

Province of Alessandria

The Province of Alessandria is an Italian province, with a population of some 430,000, which forms the southeastern part of the region of Piedmont. The provincial capital is the city of Alessandria....

in Piedmont

Piedmont

Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...

– Genoa

Province of Genoa

The Province of Genoa is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa.It has an area of 1,838 km², and a total population of about 900,000...

, in Liguria

Liguria

– Pavia

Province of Pavia

The Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,753...

, in Lombardy

Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...

– Piacenza

Province of Piacenza

, in Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

), Bobbio can boast a very old musical tradition, linked to the use of an instrument, the piffero

Piffero

The piffero or piffaro is a double reed musical instrument with a conical bore, of the oboe family.It is used to play music in the tradition of the quattro province, an area of mountains and valleys in the north-west Italian Apennines which includes parts of the four provinces of Alessandria,...

(oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

popular double-reed), which accompanied by accordion

Accordion

The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....

, brings a vast repertoire of songs that marked the various stages of life of the community. In addition to the provinces of the four dances (famously jig Bobbio

Monferrina

-Italian folk dance:Monferrina is a lively Italian folk dance in 6/8 time named after the place of its origin, Montferrat, in the Italian region of Piedmont. It has spread from Piedmont throughout Northern Italy, in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and even into Switzerland...

Bala Ghidon), there are tracks for the Carlin May – Cantamaggio, with variant of the feast of the Santa Croce, marriage, Lever (Leva Levon to Santa Maria) and that recall places and events related to the past (the song Draghin). The dances, in addition to waltz

Waltz

The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...

, polka

Polka

The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...

and mazurka

Mazurka

The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...

you can meet archaic dances such as: Alexandria, the monferrina

Monferrina

, the jig two.

Music groups:

I Musetta [composed Tilion (Attilio Rocca of Ozzola), Piercarlo Cardinali of Piacenza and Bani (Ettore Losini of Degara) soul feasts and celebrations and brought these music abroad].
The Enerbia (composed Scagnelli Maddalena, Franco Guglielmetti, Stefano Faravelli and Massimo Braghieri).

The pair of younger musicians, originally from Cassolo, is made up Gabriele Dametti the piper accompanied by Davide Follini the accordion.

Gerberto Choir – City of Bobbio

Main: [Chorus Gerberto http://www.corogerberto.eu]

The choir takes its name from Gerbert of Aurillac who was the abbot of the monastery of St. Columban in Bobbio around the year one thousand and later became Pope with the name of Sylvester II.
Gerbert was not only a scholar of astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

, mathematics

Mathematics

Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

and philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, but also of music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

.

Founded by Don Michele Tosi in the 60s choir reconstituted itself after more than 20 years of inactivity in the November of 1998, through the efforts of former choir members and the young maestro Edo Mazzoni. The repertoire includes 30 items addressed by the traditional mountain songs, folklore and songs of international modern authors revised and harmonized by the teacher who is directing the choir into a genre that may involve several generations, even the youngest. Today the choir can number among his most significant experiences also participation in major international competitions and concerts abroad.

Gastronomy and local products

The local gastronomy is influenced by the different traditions of the near regions: Liguria, Piemonte, Lombardia and Emilia.
As part of the kitchen Piacenza, Bobbio occupies a prominent position could include a series of original local dishes and desserts that are passed down from many generations:

macaroni bobbies (with the needle) (flour, eggs, oil, water);
pine nut ricotta (or Pin da Lesa) (flour, potatoes, ricotta, spinach, eggs, and Grana Padano);
lasagne bobbies (typical lasagna layered with béchamel sauce mixed with meat and mushroom sauce);
the bobbies stew (with beef, butter, olive oil, garlic Piacenza, flour, onion, dry red wine, salt, pepper, nutmeg, rosemary, bay leaves, sage, carrots, celery, tomato sauce);
snails bobbies (wet). There is a festival dedicated to and consumed on Christmas Eve in the best restaurants (snails, onion, carrots, leek, celery, tomato sauce, white wine, olive oil, butter, pepper);
almond cake, all year round in ovens and bakeries of Bobbio (of three types, crisp, full and soft);
the cake Sandy
the croccante, a sort of almond sweetmeat.
Christmas cake (flour, honey, yeast, eggs, raisins, sugar, butter, milk).
mustard fruit (pear, apple).

The famous snails of Bobbio that from survive food have become a much sought-after course for the Christmas Eve or the celebrated maccheroni hand made pasta done with the aid of the knitting needle and served with a tasty beef stew sauce.

In the right season it is possible to taste the flavoured products of the surrounding woods such as mushrooms and truffles.

And last but not least the numerous locally produced wines all of excellent quality. Tradition says that were the same monks arrived with Saint Columbanus who started the growing of the vine after it was abandoned during the dark age of Middleage.

Bobbio is located at the foot of Ligurian Apennines, in the territory known as Colli Piacentini

Colli Piacentini

The Colli Piacentini is an Italian wine region located at the western end of Emilia-Romagna. In 1967 it was given the Denominazione di origine controllata quality designation. Within its boundaries are several smaller DOCs including Colli Piacentini Gutturnio, Monterosso Val D'Arda DOC,...

, near DOC for the production of typical wines such as Gutturnio, Trebbianino Trebbia Val, Barbera, Bonarda, Ortrugo, Malvasia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot (other: Riesling, Dolcetto, Muscat and Merlot).

Bobbio is also famous for the sausage

Sausage

A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...

: salami, Cups, bacon, Piacenza PDO

Protected designation of origin

Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...

, sausages of various kinds, and cotechini and zampone.

Honors environmental and historic cultural

Some art historians, including Carla Glori, have suggested that Bobbio and its three-arched Ponte Gobbo (which was destroyed in 1472) are the landscape in the background of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

's Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...

.

Bobbio is recognized as a City of Art and Culture.

From 2006 was awarded the Bandiera arancione

Bandiera arancione

The Bandiera Arancione is a recognition of quality awarded by the Touring Club Italiano to small towns in Italy for excellency in tourism, hospitality and the environment....

(it. orange Flag) by Touring Club Italiano

Touring Club Italiano

The Touring Club Italiano is the major Italian national tourist organization.The Touring Club Ciclistico Italiano was founded on November 8, 1894 by a group of bicyclists to promote the values of cycling and travel; its founding president was Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli. It published its first...

, as high-medieval center of tourist interest, which stands for excellence and hospitality, and it is also inserted into the World Tourism Organization

World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...

.

From 2008 is also part of the club The most beautiful villages in Italy
The most beautiful villages in Italy
The most beautiful villages in Italy , is an Association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest...

(it. I Borghi più belli d'Italia), that included 149 villages throughout the Italian territory.

Annual events

The events are a yearly, many are concentrated in the summer, as the manifestation Summer bobbies and Thursday bobbies. Among the hundreds of events we can indicate the most followed:

The parties and parades of Carnival (February)
The feast of St. Joseph and Spring (bonfire night) (19 March)
The Rally Valli Piacentine (May)
The Fair of St. John (June)
The Appennino Folk Festival (July)
The gourmet feast and musical Irish music in Ireland (July)
The Bobbio Film Festival of Marco Bellocchio (July)
The exhibition antique market (August)
The Feast of Assumption with fires evening (15 August)
The Bobbio-Passo Penice (race vintage cars) (September)
The grape festival, and shows the mushroom and truffle (October)
The medieval feast of St. Columban (November)
The snail festival and Christmas market (December)

Addition, every Saturday morning on the main square, is held the traditional and ancient fair-market, with stalls and markets of various kinds with local produce and Agrobiologica.

Patronal fiestas and principal religious feasts

May Ascension
Ascension
The Ascension of Jesus is the Christian teaching found in the New Testament when the resurrected Jesus was taken up to heaven in his resurrected body, in the presence of eleven of his apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection...

(ancient columbanian procession from the Castle Malaspina-Dal Verme, with the blessing of nature, earth and the fruits of blessing buslanin, traditional sweets)
31 May (end of the month with the Virgin Mary and procession from the Sanctuary to Aid the city streets)
5 June Madonna aid (party at Shrine of Our Lady of Aid Bobbio)
7 June and 21 October Sant Antonio Maria Gianelli (second patron saint of Bobbio)
15 August Santa Maria Assunta
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

(feast of the patron Bobbio and Cathedral of Bobbio, fireworks at Ponte Gobbo)
second Sunday in September: Our Lady of Peniche (party at Sanctuary of Santa Maria in Monte Penice)
23 November St. Columban (feast of the patron Bobbio and all'Abbey of Bobbio preceded the night before the procession of the relic in the rite of Transit)

Road routes and transport

By Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

after the exit from Motorway A1
Autostrada A1 (Italy)
The Autostrada A1, or Autostrada del Sole , is an Italian motorway which connects Milan with Naples via Bologna, Florence and Rome. At 754 km, it is the longest Italian autostrada and is considered the “spinal cord” of the country’s road network...

, take the ring road to the stadium, then we arrive at the junction of the Galleana, located at the southern outskirts the city, where he began the main road to Val Trebbia: Strada Statale 45 di Val Trebbia – SS45, which goes to SW for 45 km towards Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

;
By Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

or Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

, Piacenza achieved by Motorway A1
Autostrada A1 (Italy)
The Autostrada A1, or Autostrada del Sole , is an Italian motorway which connects Milan with Naples via Bologna, Florence and Rome. At 754 km, it is the longest Italian autostrada and is considered the “spinal cord” of the country’s road network...

or through Via Emilia, take the State Road 45 Val Trebbia – SS45 direction Bobbio – Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

;
By Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

, Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...

or Brescia
Brescia
Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, between the Mella and the Naviglio, with a population of around 197,000. It is the second largest city in Lombardy, after the capital, Milan...

, Piacenza achieved by Motorway A21
Autostrada A21 (Italy)
The Autostrada A21 is an Italian motorway, which connects Turin to Brescia, through the Po Valley and the city of Piacenza.- External links :* * *...

, take the State Road 45 Val Trebbia – SS45 in direction Bobbio – Genoa;
By Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

and the Italian Riviera, you climb up along the Val Bisagno to leave the city, across the road from Val Trebbia: Strada Statale 45 di Val Trebbia – SS45 towards Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

, which touches the towns of Liguria Bargagli
Bargagli
Bargagli is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 14 km northeast of Genoa in the Val di Lentro....

, Torriglia
Torriglia
Torriglia is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located in the upper Trebbia valley, about 20 km northeast of Genoa.thumb|220px|left|Church of Sant'Onorato in Torriglia....

, Montebruno
Montebruno
Montebruno is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 30 km northeast of Genoa. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 262 and an area of 17.5 km²....

, Rovegno
Rovegno
Rovegno is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 35 km northeast of Genoa, in the Val Trebbia.Rovegno borders the following municipalities: Fascia, Fontanigorda, Gorreto, Ottone, Rezzoaglio....

, Gorreto
Gorreto
Gorreto is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 35 km northeast of Genoa.Gorreto borders the following municipalities: Carrega Ligure, Fascia, Ottone, Rovegno....

and those of Emilia Ottone and Corte Brugnatella
Corte Brugnatella
Corte Brugnatella is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 160 km west of Bologna and about 45 km southwest of Piacenza....

(km 68);
By Chiavari
Chiavari
Chiavari is a town and comune on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Genoa, region of Liguria. It is situated near the mouth of the Entella River, in the center of a fertile plain surrounded by mountains except on the southwest, where it comes down to the Mediterranean Sea...

and the Italian Riviera, both for the former State Route 586 Valley dell'Aveto – SP 586 through Rezzoaglio
Rezzoaglio
Rezzoaglio is a comune in the province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,179 and an area of 104.9 km²....

and Val Aveto to Marsaglia (Corte Brugnatella
Corte Brugnatella
Corte Brugnatella is a comune in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 160 km west of Bologna and about 45 km southwest of Piacenza....

) (not recommended in winter) (km 90) or head for the Val Fontanabuona by the route Provincial 225 Val Fontanabuona – SP 225 to Bargagli
Bargagli
Bargagli is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 14 km northeast of Genoa in the Val di Lentro....

and incorporated in the State Road 45 Val Trebbia – SS45 towards Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...

(km 100);
By Recco
Recco
Recco is a comune in the province of Genoa, region of Liguria, Italy. It is known for its focaccia al formaggio which is made with Crescenza. The consortium that dictates the official recipe of the focaccia, supposedly the result of a Saracen attack in the 1200s, is seeking the European Union PGI...

through the Provincial Road 333 – SP 333 to Gattorna (Moconesi
Mocònesi
Moconesi is a municipality in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria. The head-hamlet of Mocanesi municipality is the village of Ferrada which is located about 40 km Northeast of Genoa and one km from the house in Terrarossa, reportedly place of birth of Christopher Columbus...

) and then the Strada Provinciale 225 – SP 225 to Bargagli
Bargagli
Bargagli is a comune in the Province of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about 14 km northeast of Genoa in the Val di Lentro....

and always attach the State Road 45 Val Trebbia – SS45 towards Piacenza (100 km);
By Voghera
Voghera
thumb|250px|The Castle of Voghera in a 19th century etching.Voghera is a town and comune of Lombardy, Italy, in the province of Pavia...

by Varzi
Varzi
Varzi is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 70 km south of Milan and about 40 km south of Pavia...

and the Monte Penice Pass for the former State Road 461 Pass Penice – SP 461 (km 57);
By Castel San Giovanni
Castel San Giovanni
Castel San Giovanni is a town and comune in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.- History :...

through the Val Tidone and the passing of Monte Penice Pass for the former State Route 412 Val Tidone – SP 412 (km 50).

From reports the efficiency of communications: in particular the main artery SS 45 Val Trebbia, in fact it was partly renovated, but still stretches of road with strong characterization of other times with the logical consequences, lend, so the utmost care when you are in travel it is advised caution and moderation in the rate since the stroke, especially among Rivergaro and Perino, very twisty corners with poor visibility and bumpy surface.

The section of road mentioned above are quite interesting from the point of view and landscape view, provided the attention to driving, in several sections, where allowed, they should stop to admire the territory of considerable value in each season, useful to bring a good camera.

Val Trebbia is served from Piacenza providing regular public bus service from Piacenza via Rivergaro, Bobbio, Marsaglia, Ponte Organasco, Brass, Brass depart from the bus routes that connect the upper Val Genoese Trebbia with Genoa, but also the line Brass Bridge-Organasco-Varzi and then Oltrepò Pavia.
Bobbio also depart from other local connections: Bobbio-Coli, Bobbio-Marsaglia-S.Stefano Aveto-Rezzoaglio.

External links

Bobbio homepage (in Italian)
Piacenza Internet-Bobbio news e info (in Italian)
Bobbio in the site of "I Borghi più belli d'Italia" (in Enghish)
A brief History (in Italian) from the site of the Comunità Montana Appennino Piacentino
Bobbio and Val Trebbia (in Italian)
Notiziario bobbiese – History of the territory (in Italian)
Catholic Encyclopedia article on Bobbio
Bobbio's webcam

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.