Mortara (Lombard: Murtära) is a comune (municipality) in the province of Pavia, in the Italian region of Lombardy.

[3] It lies between the Agogna and Terdoppio rivers, in the historical district known as Lomellina, a rice-growing agricultural center.

The town has Roman origins proved by several archaeological discoveries and its first name was Pulchra Silva.

In the Orlando Furioso (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 abitantiMortara dapoi sempre nominoro.Ludovico Ariosto, I cinque canti - canto II, 88The 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, 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.