Everything about Lombardy totally explained
Lombardy (
Latin:
Langobardia,,
Western Lombard:
Lumbardìa,
Eastern Lombard:
Lombardia) is one of the 20
regions of Italy. The capital is
Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fourth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region. The languages are
Italian,
Western Lombard and
Eastern Lombard. The primary religion is Catholic, of
Ambrosian rite or
Roman rite.
Geography
The region is divided into 12 provinces:
History
The area of current Lombardy was settled at least since the 2nd millennium BC, as shown by the archaeological findings of ceramics, arrows, axes and carved stones. In the following centuries it was inhabited first by some
Etruscan tribes, who founded the city of
Mantua and spread the use of writing; later, starting from the 5th century BC, the area was invaded by the
Celt (Gaul) tribes. This people founded several cities (including Milan) and extended their rule to the
Adriatic Sea. Their development was halted by the
Roman expansion in the
Padan Plain from the 3rd century BC onwards: after centuries of struggle, in
194 BC the entire area of what is now Lombardy became a Roman province with the name of
Gallia Cisalpina ("
Gaul on the nearer side of the
Alps"). The Roman culture and language overwhelmed the former civilization in the following years, and Lombardy became one of the most developed and rich areas of Italy with the construction of a wide array of roads and the development of agriculture and trade. Important figures like
Pliny the Elder (in
Como) and
Virgil (in Mantua) were born here. In late antiquity the strategic role of Lombardy was emphasized by the temporary moving of the capital of the
Western Empire to Milan. Here, in
313 AD, emperor
Constantine issued the famous edict that gave freedom of confession to all religions within the Empire.
During and after the fall of the Western Empire, Lombardy suffered heavily from destruction brought about by a series of barbaric invasions. The last and most effective was that of the
Lombards, or Longobardi, who came around 570s. and whose long-lasting reign (whose capital was set in
Pavia) gave the current name to the region. There was a close relationship between the
Frankish,
Bavarian and Lombard nobility for many centuries.
After the initial struggles, relationships between the Lombard people and the Latin-speaking people improved. In the end, the Lombard language and culture assimilated with the Latin culture, leaving evidence in many names, the legal code and laws among other things. The end of Lombard rule came in 774, when the Frankish king
Charlemagne conquered Pavia and annexed the "Kingdom of Italy" (mostly northern and central Italy) to his empire. The former Lombard dukes and nobles were replaced by other German vassals, prince-bishops or marquises. However, to this day the population is still largely descending from the Lombards.
The 11th century marked a significant boom in the region's economy, due to improved trading and, mostly, agricultural conditions. In a similar way to other areas of Italy, this led to a growing self-acknowledgement of the cities, whose increasing richness made them able to defy the traditional feudal supreme power, represented by the German emperors and their local legates. This process reached its apex in the 12th and 13th century, when different
Lombard Leagues formed by allied cities of Lombardy, usually led by Milan, managed to defeat the Hohenstaufen emperor
Frederick I, at Legnano, and his grandson
Frederick II, at
Parma. This didn't prevent other important Lombard centres, like
Cremona (then rivalling Milan for size and wealth) and others, from supporting the imperial power if this could grant them an immediate advantage. Taking advantage of the flourishing agriculture, the area around the Po River, together with Venice and Tuscany, continued to expand its industry and commerce until it became the economic centre of the whole of Europe. The enterprising class of the communes extended its trade and banking activities well into northern Europe: "Lombard" designated the merchant or banker coming from northern Italy (see, for instance,
Lombard Street in London). The name "Lombardy" came to designate the whole of Northern Italy until the 15th century and sometimes later.
From the 14th century onwards, the instability created by the unceasing internal and external struggles ended in the creation of noble seignories, the most significant of which were those of the
Viscontis (later
Sforzas) in Milan and of the
Gonzagas in Mantua. In the 15th century the
Duchy of Milan was a major political, economical and military force at the European level. Milan and Mantua became two centres of the Renaissance whose culture, with men like
Leonardo da Vinci and
Mantegna, and pieces of art were highly regarded (for example, da Vinci's
Last Supper). This richness, however, attracted the now more organized armies of national powers like France and Austria, which waged a lengthy battle for Lombardy in the late 15th-early 16th century. After the decisive
Battle of Pavia, the Duchy of Milan became an Austrian possession, which was passed on to the royal Austrian Habsbourgs of Spain: the new rulers did little to improve the economy of Lombardy, instead imposing a growing series of taxes needed to support their unending series of European wars. The eastern part of modern Lombardy, with cities like
Bergamo and
Brescia, was under the
Republic of Venice, which had begun to extend its influence in the area from the 14th century onwards (
see also Italian Wars).
Pestilences (like that of
1648, described by
Alessandro Manzoni in his
I Promessi Sposi) and the generally declining conditions of Italy's economy in the 17th and 18th centuries halted the further development of Lombardy. In
1706 the
Austrians came to power and introduced some economical and social measures which granted a certain recovery. Their rule was smashed in the late 18th century by the French armies, however, and with the
formation of the Napoleonic Empire, Lombardy became one of the semi-independent province of Napoleonic France.
The restoration of Austrian rule in 1815, in the form of the puppet state called
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, had however to contend with new social ideals introduced by the Napoleonic era. Lombardy became one of the intellectual centres leading to
Italian unification. The popular republic of 1848 was short-lived, and Lombardy was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy 1859 as a result of the
Second Italian Independence War. Starting from the late 19th century, and with a boom after
World War II, Lombardy confirmed its status as the most economically developed area of Italy.
When annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1859 Lombardy achieved his actual territorial shape by adding the
Oltrepo pavese (formerly southern part of
Novara's Province) to the province of
Pavia. In
January 1 1927 due to a general setup ordered by the Mussolinian Government,
Varese became independent by subtracting to
Como some 40 towns up to the Lake Maggiore and to Milan the
Busto Arsizio's and
Gallarate's cities. Two other provinces had been constituted in
March 6 1992.
Lodi's province was formed cutting out of
Milan's southern territories up to Po river. Just one town (San Colombano al Lambro) didn't agree to the new settlement and, even if 40 km far away from the Provincial capital, is still depending from
Milan.
Lecco split away from of
Como's Province by cutting out Lake of Como's eastern territories.
A new province constitution had been programmed since
June 11 2004, the
Brianza's, having
Monza as administrative center, but actuation has still to come.
Economy
Lombardy is one of the engines of the global economy, with a
GDP calculated by
ISTAT at $400
billion and a per capita GDP of $49,216. Its per capita
gross domestic product is 42 percent higher than the rest of Italy, and one of the highest ones in Europe. The Lombard standard of living is comparable to those of nations like
Canada,
Australia,
Sweden,
Norway and
Japan. Many foreign and national companies have their headquarters and factories in Milan and its province. Manufactures include iron and steel, cars, electronics, mechanics components, chemical products, textiles, furnitures, leather, shoes and many others. The province of Brescia is well-known for the production of weapons, and the province of Como for silk and lace. The productivity of agriculture is enhanced by a well-developed use of fertilizers and the traditional abundance of water, boosted since the Middle Ages by the construction (partly designed by Leonardo Da Vinci) of a wide net of irrigation systems. Lower plains are characterized by fodder crops, which are mowed up to eight times a years, cereals (rice, wheat and maize) and
sugarbeet. Productions of the higher plains include cereals, vegetables, fruit trees and mulberries. The higher areas, up to the
Prealps and
Alps sectors of the north, produce fruit, vines, olives. Cattle (with the highest density in Italy), pigs and sheep are raised.
Politics
The Christian-centre party of
Democrazia Cristiana (DC) maintained a majority of the votes and rule of the most important cities and provinces until the late 1980s; support for the other traditional major force of Italian politics, the
Italian Communist Party (PCI), was increasingly eroded by the
Partito Socialista Italiano (PSI) until, in the early 1990s, the
Mani Pulite corruption scandal which spread from Milan to the whole of Italy wiped away the old political class almost entirely. This, together with problems caused by immigration and the general disaffection towards Rome's government (considered too oriented to the less developed regions of southern Italy in economical matters), led to the sudden growth of the separatist party of
Lega Lombarda (later
Lega Nord), with somewhat plebiscitary consensus especially in agricultural areas and minor cities of the region. Today Lombardy is a stronghold of the
House of Freedoms coalition, and gave about 57% of its votes to
Silvio Berlusconi at the
April 2006 elections.
Demographics
One sixth of the Italian population or about 9.5 million people live in Lombardy. The regional population Increased in the '50s and '60s because of the immigration from Southern and North-East Italy. In '80s and '90s the population growth was guaranteed by foreign immigrants, so today more than a quarter of all foreign immigrants in Italy lives in Lombardy. As of 2006, the Italian national institute of statistics ISTAT estimated that 665,884 foreign-born immigrants live in Lombardy, equal to 7.0% of the total regional population.
Towns of Lombardy with a population of 50,000 or more:
| Comune |
Population (2006 est.) |
| Milan |
1,308,735 |
| Brescia |
191,059 |
| Monza |
121,961 |
| Bergamo |
116,197 |
| Varese |
96,917 |
| Sesto San Giovanni |
83,556 |
| Como |
83,002 |
| Busto Arsizio |
79,552 |
| Cinisello Balsamo |
73,770 |
| Cremona |
71,313 |
| Pavia |
71,064 |
| Vigevano |
59,714 |
| Legnano |
56,622 |
| Rho |
50,623 |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci
Crespi d'Adda
Rock Drawings in Valcamonica
Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
National monuments
Province of Bergamo
Bergamo
Capriate San Gervasio
Credaro
- Chiesetta di San Fermo di Valcalepio
Pontida
- Abbazia di Pontida (d.p.r. n. 1488 del 24/12/1954)
Tavernola Bergamasca
- Chiesetta di San Michele a Cambianica
Trescore Balneario
- Torre del castello Suardi al Niardo
Viadanica
- Chiesetta, canonica e cimitero di Sant'Alessandro in Canzanica
Province of Brescia
Breno
Carpenedolo
Darfo Boario Terme
- Ponte di Montecchio,
- Chiesa dell'Oratorio di Montecchio
Gardone Riviera
Province of Como
Cantù
- Basilica di San Vincenzo di Galliano e battistero di San Giovanni
Como
Gravedona
- Palazzo Gallio, chiesa di Santa Maria del Tiglio, chiesa dei Santi Gusmeo e Matteo
Meride
Province of Lecco
Barzio
- Villa del Caleotto (r.d. n. 1354 del 29/02/1940)
Lecco
- Pescarenico, Convento dei Cappuccini (r.d. n. 1354 del 29/02/1940)
Province of Milan
Castellazzo di Bollate
Cormano, fraz. Brusuglio
Lentate sul Seveso
- Oratorio di Santo Stefano
Milano
- Casa natale di Alessandro Manzoni (r.d. n. 909 del 24/04/1921, r.d. n. 1354 del 29/02/1940)
- Scuderia De Montel a San Siro
- Cascina Linterno a Quarto Cagnino
- Teatro Gerolamo
Senago
Province of Monza and Brianza
Monza
Province of Pavia
Certosa di Pavia
Gropello Cairoli
Voghera: Castello
Province of Sondrio
Teglio, palazzo Besta
Province of Varese
Comerio: chiesa di San Celso
Gavirate: convento benedettino a Voltorre
Gemonio chiesa di San Pietro
Samarate: villa Montecchio
Varese: palazzo Estense, battistero di San Giovanni
Image gallery
Image:Bergamo Notturno Porta San Giacomo.jpg|Bergamo
Image:CrystalPalace Brescia.JPG |Brescia
Image:Como San Fedele.jpg|Como
Image:Cremona centro.jpg|Cremona
Image:Lecco-4-16-04-2006.jpg|Lecco
Image:Lodi mozzanica.JPG|Lodi
Image:Mantova piazza Sordello innevata.jpg|Mantova
Image:Milan – Duomo at dusk, November 2001.jpg|Milan
Image:Monza-duomo.jpg|Monza
Image:Pavia-Borgo with snow.jpg|Pavia
Image:Sondrio Madonna della Sassella 045.jpg|Sondrio
Image:Varese0001.jpg|Varese
Further Information
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