Piacenza (Italian: [pjaˈtʃɛntsa] ⓘ; Piacentino: Piaṡëinsa [pi.aˈzəi̯sɐ]; Latin: Placentia) is a city and comune (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province.

It was defined by Leonardo da Vinci as a "Land of passage" in his Codex Atlanticus, by virtue of its crucial geographical location.

[9] The name means "pleasant" or (as James Boswell reported some of the etymologists of his time to have translated it) "comely abode",[10] and it was given as a good omen.

In the spring of 218 BC, after declaring war on Carthage, the Senate decided to accelerate the foundation and gave the colonists 30 days to appear on the sites to receive their lands.

Collecting Manlius and the colonists, they descended on Piacenza and Cremona and successfully placed castra there of 480 square metres (0.12 acres) to support the building of the city.

It had to be supplied by boat after the Battle of Trebbia, when Hannibal controlled the countryside, for which purpose a port (Emporium) was constructed.

In 209 BC, Hasdrubal Barca crossed the Alps and laid siege to the city, but he was unable to take it, and he withdrew.

[18] Construction of the Via Aemilia in the decade of the 180s made the city easily accessible from the Adriatic ports, which improved trade and the prospects for timely defense.

After its conquest by Francia in the ninth century, the city began to recover, aided by its location along the Via Francigena that later connected the Holy Roman Empire with Rome.

Piacenza also captured control of the trading routes with Genoa, where the first Piacentini bankers had already settled, from the Malaspina counts and the bishop of Bobbio.

In the thirteenth century, despite unsuccessful wars against Frederick I, Piacenza managed to gain strongholds on the Lombardy shore of the Po.

Struggles for control were commonplace in the second half of the thirteenth century, similarly to the large majority of Medieval Italian communes.

Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti rewrote Piacenza's statutes and relocated the University of Pavia to the city.

In the eighteenth century, several edifices that belonged to noble families such as Scotti, Landi, and Fogliani were built in Piacenza.

Young Piacentini recruits were sent to fight in Russia, Spain, and Germany, while the city was plundered of a great number of artworks that are currently exhibited in many French museums.

When 37,089 voters out of 37,585 voted for the annexation, Piacenza was declared Primogenita dell'Unità di Italia ("First-born of the Unification of Italy") by the monarch.

In 1858, the geologist Karl Mayer-Eymar named the Piacenzian Age of the Pliocene Epoch based on deposits close to Piacenza.

[citation needed] During World War II, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies because of its strategic elements.

Bortellina (salted pancakes made with flour, salt, and water or milk) and chisulén (torta fritta in Standard Italian; made with flour, milk, and animal fats mixed together and then fried in hot strutto, or clarified pork fat) are considered the perfect coupling of pancetta, coppa, and salame, but they are also considered good with cheeses, particularly Gorgonzola and Robiola.

This is served with a sauce made of tomato puree, extra virgin olive oil, onion, salt, and pepper.

Among the culinary specialties of the Piacenza region (although also enjoyed in nearby Cremona) is mostarda di frutta, consisting of preserved fruits in a sugary syrup that is strongly flavored with mustard.

Turtlìt (tortelli dolci in standard Italian), or fruit dumplings, are filled with mostarda di frutta, mashed chestnuts, and other ingredients, and they are served at Easter.

A similar Piacentine dish is the Panzerotti al Forno, which is made with pasta, ricotta cheese, and spinach.

The wine produced in the area is qualified with a denominazione di origine controllata called "Colli Piacentini" ("Hills of Piacenza").