Lodi, Italy
Encyclopedia
Lodi (ˈlɔːdi, Lombard
: Lòd) is a city and comune
in Lombardy
, northern Italy
, on the right bank of the River Adda
. It is the capital of the province of Lodi
.
times it was called in Latin
Laus Pompeia (probably in honor of the consul
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo) and was known also because its position allowed many Gauls
of Gallia Cisalpina to obtain Roman citizenship
. It was in an important position where a vital Roman road
crossed the River Adda.
Lodi became the see of a diocese
in the 3rd century and its first bishop
, Saint Bassianus (San Bassiano) is the patron saint of the town.
A free commune
around 1000, it fiercely resisted the Milanese, who destroyed it in 1111. The old town corresponds to the modern Lodi Vecchio
. Frederick Barbarossa rebuilt it on its current location in 1158.
Starting from 1220, the Lodigiani (inhabitants of Lodi) spent some decades in realizing an important work of hydraulic engineering: a system of miles and miles of artificial rivers and channels (called Consorzio di Muzza) was created in order to give water to the countryside, turning some arid areas into one of the (still now) most important agricultural areas of the region.
Starting from the 14th century Lodi was ruled by the Visconti
family, who built a castle
here. In 1423, the antipope
John XXIII
launched the bull
by which he convened the Council of Constance
from the Duomo
of Lodi. The council would mark the end of the Great Schism
.
In 1454 representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the peace of Lodi, by which they intended to work in the direction of Italian unification
, but this peace lasted only 40 years.
The town was then ruled by the Sforza family, France
, Spain
, Austria
. In 1786 it became the eponymous capital of a province that between 1815 and 1859 would have included Crema
.
On 10 May 1796, in the first major battle of his career as a general
, the young Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austria
ns in the Battle of Lodi
. In the second half of the 19th century, Lodi begun to expand outside the city walls, boosted by economic expansion and the construction of a network of railway lines that followed the reunification of Italy.
(now part of Banco Popolare
group).
In 1945, the Italian petrol company Agip
, directed by Enrico Mattei
, started extracting methane
from its fields, and Lodi was the first Italian town with a regular domestic gas service.
, Germany
Lodi
, United States
Omegna
, Italy
. Fontainebleau
, France
.
Western Lombard
Western Lombard is a Romance language spoken in Italy, in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona , Lodi and Pavia, and the Piedmont provinces of Novara, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and a small part of Vercelli , and Switzerland...
: Lòd) is a city and comune
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 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...
, northern 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...
, on the right bank of the River Adda
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
. It is the capital of the province of Lodi
Province of Lodi
The Province of Lodi is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lodi.It has an area of 782 km², and a total population of 209,874 . There are 61 comuni in the province . As of May 31, 2005, the main comuni by population are:- External links :...
.
History
Lodi was a Celtic village; in RomanAncient 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....
times it was called in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Laus Pompeia (probably in honor of the consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo) and was known also because its position allowed many Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
of Gallia Cisalpina to obtain Roman citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
. It was in an important position where a vital Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
crossed the River Adda.
Lodi became the see of a diocese
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi
The Italian Catholic diocese of Lodi has existed since the fourth century, and is a suffragan of the archdiocese of Milan.-History:Under Diocletian, according to the local legend, 4000 Christians with their bishop, whose name is unknown, were burned alive in their church. St...
in the 3rd century and its first bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
, Saint Bassianus (San Bassiano) is the patron saint of the town.
A free commune
Medieval commune
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup. Communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread...
around 1000, it fiercely resisted the Milanese, who destroyed it in 1111. The old town corresponds to the modern Lodi Vecchio
Lodi Vecchio
Lodi Vecchio is a comune in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 25 km southeast of Milan and about 8 km west of Lodi...
. Frederick Barbarossa rebuilt it on its current location in 1158.
Starting from 1220, the Lodigiani (inhabitants of Lodi) spent some decades in realizing an important work of hydraulic engineering: a system of miles and miles of artificial rivers and channels (called Consorzio di Muzza) was created in order to give water to the countryside, turning some arid areas into one of the (still now) most important agricultural areas of the region.
Starting from the 14th century Lodi was ruled by the Visconti
House of Visconti
Visconti is the family name of two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages. There are two distinct Visconti families: The first one in the Republic of Pisa in the mid twelfth century who achieved prominence first in Pisa, then in Sardinia where they became rulers of Gallura...
family, who built a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
here. In 1423, the antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
John XXIII
Antipope John XXIII
Baldassarre Cossa was Pope John XXIII during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope.-Biography:...
launched the bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
by which he convened the Council of Constance
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
from the Duomo
Duomo
Duomo is a term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral . Some, like the Duomo of Monza, have never been cathedrals, although old and important...
of Lodi. The council would mark the end of the Great Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...
.
In 1454 representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the peace of Lodi, by which they intended to work in the direction of Italian unification
Italian unification
Italian unification was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century...
, but this peace lasted only 40 years.
The town was then ruled by the Sforza family, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In 1786 it became the eponymous capital of a province that between 1815 and 1859 would have included Crema
Crema, Italy
Crema is a town and comune in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio at 43 km from Cremona. It is also the seat of a Catholic Bishop, who gave to Crema the title of city...
.
On 10 May 1796, in the first major battle of his career as a general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, the young Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns in the Battle of Lodi
Battle of Lodi
The Battle of Lodi was fought on May 10, 1796 between French forces under General Napoleon Bonaparte and an Austrian rear guard led by Karl Philipp Sebottendorf at Lodi, Lombardy...
. In the second half of the 19th century, Lodi begun to expand outside the city walls, boosted by economic expansion and the construction of a network of railway lines that followed the reunification of Italy.
Main sights
- Piazza della Vittoria, listed by the Italian Touring Club among the Most Beautiful Squares in Italy. Featuring porticoPorticoA portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls...
es on all its four sides, it includes the Basilica della Vergine Assunta and the Broletto (Town Hall). - Piazza Broletto, with a Verona marble baptismal font dating to the 14th century.
- Church of the Beata Vergine Incoronata, considered one of the masterworks of the Lombard Renaissance.
- Church of San Francesco, built in 1280-1307.
- Church of San Lorenzo. It has a nave and two aisles, with frescoes by Callisto PiazzaCallisto PiazzaCallisto Piazza was an Italian painter.-Biography:Callisto, a member of the Piazza family of painters, was born in Lodi, Lombardy....
. - Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, the best example of Baroque architectureBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
in the city. The original RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
structure dated to 1162, but was remade in the early 18th century. The interior is on a single nave with side chapels, featuring, among the several artworks, frescoes by Carlo Innocenzo Carloni and a Deposition attributed to Robert De Longe. - Church of Sant'Agnese, in Lombard GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style (14th cneutry). It includes the Galliani Polyptych by Alberto Piazza (1520), and has, on the façade, a rose window decorated with polychrome majolicaMaiolicaMaiolica is Italian tin-glazed pottery dating from the Renaissance. It is decorated in bright colours on a white background, frequently depicting historical and legendary scenes.-Name:...
. - Church of San Filippo Neri, in Roccoco style.
- Palazzo Vescovile (Bishopric Palace), of medieval origin but rebuilt in the 18th century.
- Church of San Cristoforo, designed by Pellegrino TibaldiPellegrino TibaldiPellegrino Tibaldi , also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter.-Biography:...
. - Visconti Castle (Torrione), a medieval castle now partially destroyed.
- Palazzo Mozzanica (15th century)
Economy
In 1864 Tiziano Zalli founded the Banca Popolare di Lodi, the first Italian cooperative bankCooperative banking
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world....
(now part of Banco Popolare
Banco Popolare
Banco Popolare is an Italian cooperative bank, formed in 2007 from the merger of Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara and Banca Popolare Italiana . In June 2009 the company became the first Italian bank to receive state aid from the Government of Italy due to the ongoing financial crisis. It sold...
group).
In 1945, the Italian petrol company Agip
Agip
Agip is an Italian automotive gasoline and diesel retailer established in 1926. It is a subsidiary of the multinational petroleum company Eni.In 2003, Eni S.p.A...
, directed by Enrico Mattei
Enrico Mattei
Enrico Mattei was an Italian public administrator. After World War II he was given the task of dismantling the Italian Petroleum Agency Agip, a state enterprise established by the Fascist regime. Instead Mattei enlarged and reorganized it into the National Fuel Trust Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi...
, started extracting methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
from its fields, and Lodi was the first Italian town with a regular domestic gas service.
Twin cities
ConstanceKonstanz
Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz.-Location:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Lodi
Lodi, California
Lodi is a city located in , in the northern portion of California's Central Valley. The population was 62,134 at the 2010 census. The California Department of Finance's population estimate as of January 1, 2011 is 62,473....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Omegna
Omegna
Omegna is a comune in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 100 km northeast of Turin and about 13 km southwest of Verbania at the northernmost point of Lago d’Orta and traversed by the Nigoglia, the lake’s sole outflow.-History:The presence...
, 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...
. Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.