Parabiago
Encyclopedia
Parabiago is a town located in the north-western part of the Province of Milan
, Italy
.
The town is crossed by the road to Sempione
(S.S.33) and MilanGallarate
Railway; nearby flow the Olona
river and the Canale Villoresi
.
Its demonym in Italian
is parabiaghese in the masculine and feminine singular and parabiaghesi in the plural. In the local Insubric
dialect it is parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the masculine singular, parabiaghësa or parabiagœsa in the feminine singular, and parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the plural for both genders.
ic-insubrian
settlement (4th century B.C.), it developed during the Roman Empire
rule, as documented by various archaeological discoveries of little objects, as the famous Parabiago Patera, a wonderful silver plate probably used to cover an ashes urn.
In the Early Middle Ages
, Parabiago was the centre of a parish (pieve) and of an autonomus county, named Comitatus Parabiagi and sometimes Burgaria, governed by the Sanbonifacio family, of frank
descent, coming from Verona
; in the 7th century, its importance took the lombard
Queen Theodelinda
, to give permission for a little artificial stream, named Riale or Röngia, which took water from the Olona
river and traveled through the village: that stream lasted until the 1928, when it was definitively stilted up.
During the Late Middle Ages
, the town was the set of some lombardian
events. The Truce of Parabiago (2829 August 1257) led to the Pace di Sant'Ambrogio (Saint Ambrose's Peace), so called because it was signed in the homonymous Basilica in Milan
). It put an end to the risk of a civil war
between nobles and people in the Commune of Milan.
On 21 February 1339, occurred the Battle of Parabiago
between Lodrisio Visconti
, with his army named Compagnia di San Giorgio
(Saint George's Company), and Luchino Visconti with his nephew Azzone, for the dominion over the Duchy of Milan
; the battle was won by the Milanese regular army; according to tradition, this happened thanks to the miraculous apparition of Saint Ambrose.
During this time, the Crivelli family inheredited from the Sanbonifacio family the County of Parabiago, perhaps still corresponding with the Burgaria County.
In the following centuries Parabiago had a slow decline; it suffered two pillages, in 1449 by Francesco Sforza and in 1527 by Bourbons of Spain
, as well as two epidemics (1529 and 1540).
, the Marquis Camillo Castelli bought the Fief of Parabiago for 8800 lire
(26 September 1658); the family extinguished in 1783, with the death of Cardinal Giuseppe Castelli.
Parabiago developed in the 18th century, during the Austrian
rule. In this century was born an important international artist, Giuseppe Maggiolini
, well-known as Maestro d'Intarsio (carver master); in fact he was a great furniture-maker and the first neoclassical
cabinet-maker
in Europe
. In the same period was established the Cavalleri College, a famous school for Milanese noble youths, founded by Father Claudio Cavalleri and his brother Filippo. Between 18th and 19th centuries, the parabiaghese doctor Giuseppe Giannini wrote medical essays beside practicing medicine.
Between the 19th and 20th centuries the Industrial Revolution
reached Parabiago. The most active industrialists were Felice Gajo, who established the Unione Manifatture di Parabiago (United Manufacturing of Parabiago) (textiles), and Paolo Castelnuovo, who founded in 1899 the first shoe factory in the town. Since then, Parabiago is known as the Città della Calzatura (Shoes City).
experienced an economic boom followed by a demographic one. Industrialization caught on, the little traditional shoemakers established middle and big shoe factories; chemical and mechanical industries were born, and attracted immigration from Southern Italy. On 27 November 27 1985 the town took the title of City.
In the early 1990s the majority of the Town Council, formed by D.C. (Christian Democracy
), P.S.I. (Italian Socialist Party
) and P.R.I. (Italian Republican Party
), was forced to resign by the Tangentopoli
scandal about the new urbanistic plan, and some important local politicians were arrested.
Bourough.
Some ATM
bus lines link the town with other boroughs.
with: Samobor
, Croatia
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, 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...
.
The town is crossed by the road to Sempione
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
(S.S.33) and MilanGallarate
Gallarate
Gallarate is a city and comune of Lombardy, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 51,700....
Railway; nearby flow the Olona
Olona
The Olona is a 71 km long Italian river, which runs through the provinces of Varese and Milan.The Olona has more than one source; in fact it has six main springs...
river and the Canale Villoresi
Canale Villoresi
Canale Villoresi is a canal in Italy; it was the brainchild of Lombardy engineer Eugenio Villoresi.It originates from the River Ticino near the village of Somma Lombardo, and runs westwards for 86 km to the Adda River....
.
Its demonym in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
is parabiaghese in the masculine and feminine singular and parabiaghesi in the plural. In the local Insubric
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...
dialect it is parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the masculine singular, parabiaghësa or parabiagœsa in the feminine singular, and parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the plural for both genders.
Ancient history and Middle Ages
Parabiago has ancient origins: starting from the first 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-insubrian
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
settlement (4th century B.C.), it developed during the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
rule, as documented by various archaeological discoveries of little objects, as the famous Parabiago Patera, a wonderful silver plate probably used to cover an ashes urn.
In the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, Parabiago was the centre of a parish (pieve) and of an autonomus county, named Comitatus Parabiagi and sometimes Burgaria, governed by the Sanbonifacio family, of frank
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...
descent, coming from Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
; in the 7th century, its importance took the lombard
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...
Queen Theodelinda
Theodelinda
Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards, was the daughter of duke Garibald I of Bavaria.She was married first in 588 to Authari, king of the Lombards, son of king Cleph. Authari died in 590. Theodelinda was allowed to pick Agilulf as her next husband and Authari's successor in 591...
, to give permission for a little artificial stream, named Riale or Röngia, which took water from the Olona
Olona
The Olona is a 71 km long Italian river, which runs through the provinces of Varese and Milan.The Olona has more than one source; in fact it has six main springs...
river and traveled through the village: that stream lasted until the 1928, when it was definitively stilted up.
During the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
, the town was the set of some lombardian
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...
events. The Truce of Parabiago (2829 August 1257) led to the Pace di Sant'Ambrogio (Saint Ambrose's Peace), so called because it was signed in the homonymous Basilica in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
). It put an end to the risk of a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
between nobles and people in the Commune of Milan.
On 21 February 1339, occurred the Battle of Parabiago
Battle of Parabiago
-Background:Lodrisio Visconti set out for Lombardy in the late January 1339, defeating the Milanese in Rivolta d'Adda, and later conquering Cernusco sul Naviglio, Sesto di Monza and Legnano, where he was joined by the Scaliger troops. Luchino set off to meet the Compagnia with his citizen militia...
between Lodrisio Visconti
Lodrisio Visconti
-Biography:He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful House of Visconti of Milan, and Antiochia Crivelli.After a military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti and the latter's son Galeazzo in the reconquest of Milan against the Torriani. Later, together with the other...
, with his army named Compagnia di San Giorgio
Compagnia di San Giorgio
The Compagnia di San Giorgio was the name of several companies of mercenaries in Italy during the 14th century.-History:A first company under this name was founded by Lodrisio Visconti, usurper of the title of lord of Seprio in northern Italy, in 1339...
(Saint George's Company), and Luchino Visconti with his nephew Azzone, for the dominion over the Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
; the battle was won by the Milanese regular army; according to tradition, this happened thanks to the miraculous apparition of Saint Ambrose.
During this time, the Crivelli family inheredited from the Sanbonifacio family the County of Parabiago, perhaps still corresponding with the Burgaria County.
In the following centuries Parabiago had a slow decline; it suffered two pillages, in 1449 by Francesco Sforza and in 1527 by Bourbons of Spain
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
, as well as two epidemics (1529 and 1540).
Modern Age
During Spanish rule in Duchy of MilanDuchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, the Marquis Camillo Castelli bought the Fief of Parabiago for 8800 lire
Lira
Lira is the name of the monetary unit of a number of countries, as well as the former currency of Italy, Malta, San Marino and the Vatican City and Israel. The term originates from the value of a Troy pound of high purity silver. The libra was the basis of the monetary system of the Roman Empire...
(26 September 1658); the family extinguished in 1783, with the death of Cardinal Giuseppe Castelli.
Parabiago developed in the 18th century, during the Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
rule. In this century was born an important international artist, Giuseppe Maggiolini
Giuseppe Maggiolini
Giuseppe Maggiolini , himself a marquetry-maker , was the pre-eminent cabinet-maker in Milan in the later 18th century...
, well-known as Maestro d'Intarsio (carver master); in fact he was a great furniture-maker and the first neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
cabinet-maker
Cabinet making
Cabinet making is the practice of using various woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture.Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In the same period was established the Cavalleri College, a famous school for Milanese noble youths, founded by Father Claudio Cavalleri and his brother Filippo. Between 18th and 19th centuries, the parabiaghese doctor Giuseppe Giannini wrote medical essays beside practicing medicine.
Between the 19th and 20th centuries the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
reached Parabiago. The most active industrialists were Felice Gajo, who established the Unione Manifatture di Parabiago (United Manufacturing of Parabiago) (textiles), and Paolo Castelnuovo, who founded in 1899 the first shoe factory in the town. Since then, Parabiago is known as the Città della Calzatura (Shoes City).
20th century
In the 1960s Parabiago like other cities and towns in Northern ItalyNorthern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
experienced an economic boom followed by a demographic one. Industrialization caught on, the little traditional shoemakers established middle and big shoe factories; chemical and mechanical industries were born, and attracted immigration from Southern Italy. On 27 November 27 1985 the town took the title of City.
In the early 1990s the majority of the Town Council, formed by D.C. (Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
), P.S.I. (Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
) and P.R.I. (Italian Republican Party
Italian Republican Party
The Italian Republican Party is a liberal political party in Italy.The PRI is party with old roots that originally took a left-wing position, claiming descent from the political position of Giuseppe Mazzini...
), was forced to resign by the Tangentopoli
Tangentopoli
Tangentopoli is a term which was coined to describe pervasive corruption in the Italian political system exposed in the 1992-6 Mani Pulite investigations, as well as the resulting scandal, which led to the collapse of the hitherto dominant Christian Democracy party and its allies.-Popular distrust...
scandal about the new urbanistic plan, and some important local politicians were arrested.
Transport
In the district there's one stop of Metro Line S5, even if there's a project of the construction of another stop near the border with NervianoNerviano
Nerviano is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km northwest of Milan. Its territory is crossed by the Olona river and by the Villoresi Canal.-External links:*...
Bourough.
Some ATM
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi is a public company, responsible for public transportation in Milan city and some surrounding municipalities, in Italy...
bus lines link the town with other boroughs.
International relations
Parabiago is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Samobor
Samobor
Samobor is a town in the Zagreb County, Croatia. It is part of the Zagreb metropolitan area.-Geography:Samobor is located west of Zagreb, between the eastern slopes of the Samoborsko gorje , in the Sava River valley.-Population:...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
Further reading
- Marco Ceriani, Storia di Parabiago, vicende e sviluppi dalle origini ad oggi, (History of Parabiago), Unione Tipografica di Milano, 1948
- Egidio Gianazza, Uomini e cose di Parabiago (Men and things from Parabiago), Comune di Parabiago, 1990
- Raul Dal Santo, Matteo Dolci, Ipotesi di definizione del paesaggio dell’altomilanese in epoca imperiale romana (Hypothesis about the Alto Milanese country during Roman Empire), Comune di Parabiago, 2006