History of Cilavegna

[9] The Bronze Age inaugurated this phase and was characterized by the considerable increase of human presence in Lomellina,[7] evidenced by the various finds concerning new funerary practices as well (in 1986 tombs dating back to 1300 B.C.

[11] They built real villages thanks to the facilities offered by the proximity of the Ticino River, and the growing development allowed them to become trading partners with the other Ligurian population of the Libui and with the Etruscans; the latter, however, did not limit themselves to a simple coalition with the Laevi and in the 8th century BC invaded the territories of northern Italy (thus including Lomellina), forming the Padanian Etruria.

At this stage Cilavegna became the seat of a gastald:[18] the latter had a function of controlling the dukes, as well as exercising jurisdictional and administrative sovereignty over its territory; the office was temporary and its importance declined as ducal power grew.

[18] Later on, after the deposition of Charles the Fat in November 887, the territories of the Kingdom of Italy fell into the so-called "feudal anarchy" in which the first king was Berengar I;[3] he played a very important role in the establishment of the first nucleus of the country since, as stated in a document dating back to the 10th century, he granted the bishop of Pavia to build a fortress in Cilavinnis.

[24] In such a situation of isolationism, in which each village equipped itself with walls to defend itself from possible invaders, the economy of Lomellina underwent a major decline;[25] peasants and breeders were responsible for the sustenance of the communities, while the nobles in arms were concerned with the defense of the city borders.

[25] From a religious point of view, Cilavegna was enriched in the Romanesque period by the small church of St. Anthony; it was supposed to become an important place of worship, but over time the project was never finished and the little that had been accomplished was demolished and remodeled to a simple chapel at the end of the 18th century.

[29] After the first decades of the 15th century, with the re-establishment of peace, there was a gradual development of agricultural production and the flourishing of various artisan activities in the village; this progress was accompanied by the building of some sacred places, such as the church of San Martino and that of Santa Maria.

[30] At the same time, different lords followed one another in the village: after not even twenty years, the fief was ceded to Francesco di Castelbarco (July 21, 1441),[33] prince of Marignano and descendant of the Lodrone counts, but the latter did not keep it for long because on March 5, 1466, Cilavegna passed to Alberico Maletta.

[33] His power, however, did not last long as, after Ludovico il Moro took possession of the Duchy of Milan in 1494, the latter wished to favor his trustees at the expense of the rights acquired by others and therefore handed Cilavegna over to his steward, Giacometto della Tela, on February 6, 1496.

[36] This explains, therefore, the reason for the clash, which also took place in the neighboring territory of Cilavegna: in 1500 Louis XII besieged the town of Mortara, in which Ludovico il Moro had taken refuge, who, abandoned by the troops, was later taken prisoner.

This event changed the political order of Lomellina because on February 2, 1532,[38] with the birth of the committee of Vigevano, several towns were annexed to the latter, often at the expense of the county of Pavia: one of these was Cilavegna, which also saw the return of the Atellani on December 9, 1534.

[42] The happy phase of the Atellan lordship, however, did not last long as the feudal lords became indebted to the community and it was necessary to impose a cap on the price of bread: this triggered discontent in the village and the bakers began to sell their production under the counter.

[39] The Atellani thus received a writ of summons, to which, however, they did not respond, and the trial was held in contumacy of the feudal lord; as a result of the proceedings Carlo della Tela was found guilty and thus had to abandon the feud, leaving it to his son Ottavio in 1591.

[44] Thus was established the Taverna lordship, which had to immediately remedy an internal crisis that had already begun: for many years, in fact, the town had been fighting with the fledgling municipality of Parona for possession of the ancient fresco of St.

[34] In addition to this, a violent wave of plague struck the whole of Lomellina, decimating the population and compromising the local economy; production slowed considerably and the flour famine was remedied with mixed millet and bran doughs.

[46] Cesare Taverna's death in 1639 definitively marked the least prosperous moment because his successor, his son Lodovico, was too young to manage a fiefdom and was therefore temporarily replaced by Countess Barbara della Tela.

[47] Later, partly due to the damage caused by the soldiers of the garrison of Mortara (1659),[48] the economic situation of the Taverna family worsened considerably, which prevented Lodovico from completing the payment of the purchase sum of the fief: his estates were then confiscated and the count had to abandon Cilavegna until his death (1679).

[48] Underscoring the internal crisis that was taking place was a note from the vicar general of Pavia, who wrote a letter for the shrine of Sant'Anna to be demolished; it was in fact, due to the state of neglect in the area, continually marked by theft and desecration.

[52] Then, in 1733, came his son Lorenzo, who had to face the difficult period marked by the war for the succession of Austria (1740-1748); it had consequences on the lifestyle of the population, but above all on the political order of Vigevanasco, since with the Treaty of Aachen (1748) it became a Savoy territory under Charles Emmanuel III, together with the Vogherese and Alto Novarese.

[53] From this time a process of economic growth took place in the fief, marked by the assignment of the title of highways to the Cilavegna-Gravellona-Cassolo, Cilavegna-Vigevano and the Cilavegna-Vercelli; thus a number of improvement projects were initiated, fostering trade for all of Lomellina and Vigevanasco.

With that document the existence of the Cisalpine Republic (including Lombardy) was recognized and feudal rights in Italy were annulled:[note 3] the Taverna Counts lost all privileges by an edict issued on July 20, 1798.

[59] Other interventions concerned some useful ordinances to prevent internal hostilities within the community;[60] in particular, in 1812 it was sanctioned that on feast days hawkers could not occupy the spaces used for selling from the first stroke of the bell until vespers, while the innkeepers had to let out their customers during this interval.

[60] Subsequently, in 1815, the construction of a jail inside the municipal building was initiated by His Majesty's order, which in turn was protected by the arms delivered to the mayor, law enforcement officers, secretaries and provost.

[67] From this period, however, one is reminded of the new urban structure assumed by the city, as it was used as a German garrison, which had a storehouse of provisions in the elementary schools and a prison camp at a building of the "Rondo" manufactory, which was forced into the practice of the black bag in order to make up for the reduction in work space;[67] the former church of San Rocco, moreover, became the "Casa del Fascio."

protesting in front of the factories (for which some were deported to the concentration camps of Mauthausen and Auschwitz);[68] the second, on the other hand, was the last gesture by some patriots, named Giuseppe Campana, Giovanni Omodeo Zorini and Carlo Pizzarelli, who on liberation day decided to confront the remaining German soldiers, dying from the armed response of the enemies.

"[66] An interesting note concerns the asparagus festival, which has been held every year since 1964 on the second Sunday in May, in celebration of a crop dating back to the 16th century A.D.:[69] in addition to the presence of stalls, it is characterized by the traditional parade in 18th-century costumes (in memory of the Taverna family) and concludes with the "pig race," in which four jockeys and their animal companions compete so that the historic winning district (Dosso, Oropa, Castello or Sant'Antonio) is declared.

[72] The Theater, a place where creativity, art, imagination and encounter are best expressed, is well suited to bear the name of the French town as a symbol of alliance and solidarity, which underscores the new role of local authorities as bearers of a "citizen diplomacy, which opens new perspectives on the level of relations between peoples.

"In 2018 a Territorial Government Plan was approved and revised to bring the town's urban development under control, especially in response to the need to re-establish as much ecological connection as possible: the protection of areas of naturalistic and historical significance resulted in several restrictions in the construction sector, while in the field of services the municipality initiated several projects to improve the road system and sports facilities.

[73] In addition to this, the need to populate the agricultural territory with native vegetation was reiterated, with the aim of reconstituting large wooded areas, including "the Oliva forest,"[73] already entrusted by the municipal administration to a specialized association.

[76] The ancient emblem of the Taverna family included a single white field with three black transverse volumes, while the presence of the "dog" was typical of the counts of Landriano; such a figure, however, was introduced in Cilavegna as well only on the occasion of the union of the feud with the "major" one, and this was probably the reason why the two branches were often confused with each other.