Casteggio
Encyclopedia
Casteggio is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Pavia
in the Italian
region Lombardy
, located about 61 km south of Milan
and about 25 km south of Pavia
. As of 31 July 2010, it had a population of 6,537 and an area of 17.8 km².
Casteggio borders the following municipalities: Borgo Priolo
, Calvignano
, Casatisma
, Corvino San Quirico
, Montebello della Battaglia
, Oliva Gessi
, Robecco Pavese
, Verretto
.
was a settlement of the Ligures
, belonging to the tribe called Marici
by the Romans
(and wrongly identified as Celt
s by Polybius
). The location was the site of a major defeat of the Marici by the legions of Marcus Claudius Marcellus
, which was celebrated in a tragedy by the Latin poet Naevius
. In 218 BC
it regained its independence after the Roman defeat in the neighbourhood by Hannibal's army; however it fell again to Roman rule in 197 BC
, when it was also set to fire.
Never to recover its former splendour, it was annexed to the colonia
of Piacenza
, and remained under that city’s control after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
.
In the Middle Ages
Casteggio came under the influence of Pavia
, to which it was assigned by Frederick Barbarossa in 1164. In 1441 it was acquired by Cesare Martinengo, and was later ruled by the Simonetta, Sforza, Bentivoglio
and Del Carretto dynasties. It was heavily damaged during the Italian Wars
of late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
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:...
(municipality) in the Province of 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 the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region 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...
, located about 61 km south of 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 ,...
and about 25 km south of Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. As of 31 July 2010, it had a population of 6,537 and an area of 17.8 km².
Casteggio borders the following municipalities: Borgo Priolo
Borgo Priolo
Borgo Priolo is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 60 km south of Milan and about 25 km south of Pavia...
, Calvignano
Calvignano
Calvignano is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km south of Milan and about 20 km south of Pavia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 112 and an area of 6.9 km²....
, Casatisma
Casatisma
Casatisma is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km south of Milan and about 15 km south of Pavia...
, Corvino San Quirico
Corvino San Quirico
Corvino San Quirico is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km south of Milan and about 20 km south of Pavia...
, Montebello della Battaglia
Montebello della Battaglia
Montebello della Battaglia is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km south of Milan and about 20 km south of Pavia....
, Oliva Gessi
Oliva Gessi
Oliva Gessi is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 50 km south of Milan and about 20 km south of Pavia...
, Robecco Pavese
Robecco Pavese
Robecco Pavese is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located in the Oltrepò Pavese about 45 km south of Milan and about 15 km south of Pavia....
, Verretto
Verretto
Verretto is a comune in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 45 km south of Milan and about 15 km south of Pavia...
.
History
ClastidiumClastidium
Clastidium , was a village of the Anamares, in Gallia Cispadana, on the Via Postumia, 5 miles east of Iria and 31 miles west of Placentia....
was a settlement of the Ligures
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
, belonging to the tribe called Marici
Marici (Ligures)
The Marici were a Ligurian people. In the Third Book of his Natural History Pliny the Elder identifies them as the co-founders, along with the Laevi, of Ticinum, the modern Pavia....
by 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....
(and wrongly identified as Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
s by Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
). The location was the site of a major defeat of the Marici by the legions of Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Marcus Claudius Marcellus , five times elected as consul of the Roman Republic, was an important Roman military leader during the Gallic War of 225 BC and the Second Punic War...
, which was celebrated in a tragedy by the Latin poet Naevius
Gnaeus Naevius
Gnaeus Naevius was a Roman epic poet and dramatist of the Old Latin period. He had a notable literary career at Rome until his satiric comments delivered in comedy angered the Metelli family, one of whom was consul. After a sojourn in prison he recanted and was set free by the tribunes...
. In 218 BC
218 BC
Year 218 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Longus...
it regained its independence after the Roman defeat in the neighbourhood by Hannibal's army; however it fell again to Roman rule in 197 BC
197 BC
Year 197 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cethegus and Rufus...
, when it was also set to fire.
Never to recover its former splendour, it was annexed to the colonia
Colonia (Roman)
A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
of 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...
, and remained under that city’s control after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
.
In 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...
Casteggio came under the influence of Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
, to which it was assigned by Frederick Barbarossa in 1164. In 1441 it was acquired by Cesare Martinengo, and was later ruled by the Simonetta, Sforza, Bentivoglio
Bentivoglio
Bentivoglio was an Italian family of princely rank, long supreme in Bologna and responsible for giving the city its political autonomy during the Renaissance.-History:...
and Del Carretto dynasties. It was heavily damaged during the Italian Wars
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
of late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.