Lovere
Encyclopedia
Lovere is a town and comune
in the province of Bergamo
, in Lombardy
, Italy
, at the north-west end of Lake Iseo
.
The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland
, united with the heavy stone arcades of Italy; it faces a lake and has a semicircle of mountains behind. Lovere is part of The most beautiful villages in Italy
, an Association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest.
ic origin. Later it was conquered by the Romans
, attracted by its strategical position at the end of the Val Camonica
and the beginning of the Val Cavallina, as well as for the naval transport on the Lake Iseo.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire
it was ruled by the Lombards
and the Franks
. Given to the monks of the Marmoutier Abbey
, it was sold to the Bishops of Bergamo
, who, at the time of the Guelphs and Ghibellines
struggle, were in turn replaced by the Celeri family. The fights lasted until the mid-15th century, when the territory was conquered by the Republic of Venice
, whose rule lasted until the French invasion in 1797.
Giovanni Battista Crespi
(also known as Il Cerano), Pietro Damini
, Jacopo Ligozzi
, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
, Santo Prunati, Pietro Ricchi
, Elisabetta Sirani
, Paris Bordone
, Giacomo Ceruti
, Antonio Cifrondi
, Luigi Frisoni
, Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi (also known as Fra' Galgario), Giandomenico Tiepolo, Francesco Zugno
and others. Paintings from the 19th century include works by Eduardo Arroyo
, Bengt Lindstrom
, Emilio Vedova
and others. The palace is also home to marble sculptures by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
, Johann Weigel, Andrea Chierici, Luciano Zambetti and Canova. The museum also contains a collection of terracotta, porcelain, antique armor and armaments, and furniture. Palazzo Tadini houses also a zoological collection.
Camillo Golgi
studied in Lovere's Liceo Classico. Giacomo Agostini
, all-time leader in victories in motorcycle Grand Prix
history, was born in Lovere in 1942. Leading cinema critic and RAI
author Enrico Ghezzi was born in Lovere in 1952.
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 Bergamo
Province of Bergamo
The Province of Bergamo is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. It has a population of 1,098,740 , an area of 2,722.86 square km, and contains 244 comuni...
, 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...
, Italy
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...
, at the north-west end of Lake Iseo
Lake Iseo
Lake Iseo or Lago d'Iseo or Sebino is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio river.It is in the north of the country in the Val Camonica area, near the cities of Brescia and Bergamo. The lake is almost equally divided between the Provinces of Bergamo and Brescia...
.
The houses in the city have overhanging wooden roofs, typical of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, united with the heavy stone arcades of Italy; it faces a lake and has a semicircle of mountains behind. Lovere is part of 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...
, an Association that notes small Italian towns of strong artistic and historical interest.
History
The first known settlement in Lovere area dates to the 5th and 4th century BC, being of CeltCelt
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....
ic origin. Later it was conquered 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....
, attracted by its strategical position at the end of the Val Camonica
Val Camonica
Val Camonica is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, about 90 km long. It starts from the Tonale Pass, at 1883 metres above sea level and ends at Corna Trentapassi, in the comune of Pisogne, near Lake Iseo...
and the beginning of the Val Cavallina, as well as for the naval transport on the Lake Iseo.
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....
it was ruled by the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
and the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. Given to the monks of the Marmoutier Abbey
Marmoutier Abbey
Marmoutier Abbey can refer to:* Marmoutier Abbey * Marmoutier Abbey...
, it was sold to the Bishops of Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, who, at the time of the Guelphs and Ghibellines
Guelphs and Ghibellines
The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
struggle, were in turn replaced by the Celeri family. The fights lasted until the mid-15th century, when the territory was conquered by the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, whose rule lasted until the French invasion in 1797.
Main sights
- The church of Santa Maria in Valvendra, built in 1473, initially in Gothic style, then replaced by Renaissance forms. It has with a nave and two aisles, and houses paintings by Gian Paolo Cavagna, Domenico CarpinoniDomenico CarpinoniDomenico Carpinoni was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. He was born at Clusone in the Valle Seriana. He was sent to Venice when young, and became a pupil of the younger Palma il Giovane. He painted a Birth of St...
and Piero Marone.
- Palazzo Tadini contains a gallery of art including paintings by Giovanni Giacomo BarbelliGiovanni Giacomo BarbelliGiovanni Giacomo Barbelli was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Brescia.He was born in Offanengo, near Crema, and was is mentioned as a mentor of Evaristo Baschenis....
,
Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi , called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect,-Biography:...
(also known as Il Cerano), Pietro Damini
Pietro Damini
Pietro Damini was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period. He was the pupil of the painter Giovanni Battista Novelli. He painted Christ giving keys to Peter for San Clemente in Padua. He painted a Crucifixion for the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua. He also painted an image of Saint...
, Jacopo Ligozzi
Jacopo Ligozzi
Jacopo Ligozzi was an Italian painter, illustrator, designer, and miniaturist of the late Renaissance and early Mannerist styles.-Biography:...
, Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone
Carlo Francesco Nuvolone was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Lombardy.He was born in Milan to a Cremonese father and mannerist painter, Panfilo Nuvolone. After working with his father, he studied under Giovanni Battista Crespi in the Accademia Ambrosiana in Milan...
, Santo Prunati, Pietro Ricchi
Pietro Ricchi
Pietro Ricchi was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, born in Lucca.He traveled widely thorough Northern Italy. He was a pupil of the painter Domenico Passignano and Guido Reni . He painted an altarpiece for the church of San Francesco in Lucca.Ricchi died in Udine in 1675.-References:...
, Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani
Elisabetta Sirani was an Italian Baroque painter whose father was the painter Giovanni Andrea Sirani of the School of Bologna-Biography:...
, Paris Bordone
Paris Bordone
Paris Bordon was an Italian painter of the Venetian Renaissance who, despite training with Titian, maintained a strand of mannerist complexity and provincial vigor.-Biography:...
, Giacomo Ceruti
Giacomo Ceruti
Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti was an Italian late Baroque painter, active in Northern Italy in Milan, Brescia, and Venice. He acquired the nickname Pitocchetto for his many paintings of peasants dressed in rags.He was born in Milan, but worked primarily in Brescia...
, Antonio Cifrondi
Antonio Cifrondi
Antonio Cifrondi was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, mainly of genre themes. He was active in Brescia and near Bergamo....
, Luigi Frisoni
Luigi Frisoni
Luigi Frisoni was an Italian painter, born in Verona. He initially apprenticed with Antonio Pachera. He taught in the local academy of painters.-Sources:...
, Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi (also known as Fra' Galgario), Giandomenico Tiepolo, Francesco Zugno
Francesco Zugno
Francesco Zugno was an Italian painter of the Rococo period. He was born in Brescia. Among his masterworks is a series of wall frescoes of figures in quadratura balconies—part genre, part courtly conceit. He was strongly influenced by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and his works.-References:* entry...
and others. Paintings from the 19th century include works by Eduardo Arroyo
Eduardo Arroyo
Eduardo Arroyo is a Spanish painter and graphic artist. He is also active as an author and set designer.Arroyo, who was born in Madrid, studied art in his home city, but left Spain in 1958 because of his basic contempt for the regime of Francisco Franco and...
, Bengt Lindstrom
Bengt Lindström
Bengt Karl Erik Lindström was a Swedish artist. Lindström was one of Sweden's best known contemporary artists with a characteristic style of distinct colors, often including contorted faces....
, Emilio Vedova
Emilio Vedova
Emilio Vedova was an Italian modern painter, considered one of the most important to emerge in his country's artistic scene after World War II.Vedova was born in Venice into a working-class family...
and others. The palace is also home to marble sculptures by Giovanni Maria Benzoni
Giovanni Maria Benzoni
Giovanni Maria Benzoni was an Italian neoclassical sculptor. He was trained in Rome, where he later set up his own workshop....
, Johann Weigel, Andrea Chierici, Luciano Zambetti and Canova. The museum also contains a collection of terracotta, porcelain, antique armor and armaments, and furniture. Palazzo Tadini houses also a zoological collection.
- Church of San Giorgio, dating from 1263, although mostly rebuilt in the mid-15th century. It houses a Last Supper by Gian Paolo Cavagna and Trinity with the Virgin by Palma the Younger.
- Monastery of Santa Chiara, built in the early 16th century. It has some works by Sebastiano ConcaSebastiano ConcaSebastiano Conca was an Italian painter.He was born at Gaeta, then part of the Kingdom of Naples, and apprenticed in Naples under Francesco Solimena. In 1706, along with his brother Giovanni, who acted as his assistant, he settled at Rome, where for several years he worked in chalk only, to...
. - Oratory of San Martino, dating (according to some sources) to the 9th century, and including some recently rediscovered frescoes in the apse.
- The Castelliere, one of the most ancient fortifications in the region (3rd century BC).
Economy
Lovere possesses a metallurgic plant "LUCCHINI" which employs about 1300 people and specializes in the manufacture of railroad axles.Notable people
1906 Medicine Nobel PrizeNobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
Camillo Golgi
Camillo Golgi
Camillo Golgi was an Italian physician, pathologist, scientist, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Camillo Golgi was born in the village of Corteno, Lombardy, then part of the Austrian Empire. The village is now named Corteno Golgi in his honour. His father was a physician and district medical officer...
studied in Lovere's Liceo Classico. Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini
-Non-riding career:Like John Surtees and Mike Hailwood before him, Agostini raced in Formula One cars. He competed in non-championship Formula One races in 1978. He competed in the European Formula 2 series in a Chevron B42-BMW and British Aurora Formula 1 with his own team and a Williams FW06...
, all-time leader in victories in motorcycle Grand Prix
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
history, was born in Lovere in 1942. Leading cinema critic and RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
author Enrico Ghezzi was born in Lovere in 1952.