Piacenza Piaṡëinsa (Emilian)
Comune
Comune di Piacenza
Francesco Mochi's 1615 equestrian statue of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma, in the city's main square, Piazza Cavalli
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Piacenza
Piacenza Location of Piacenza in Italy Show map of Italy Piacenza Piacenza (Emilia-Romagna) Show map of Emilia-Romagna
Coordinates: 45°2′52″N 9°42′2″E / 45.04778°N 9.70056°E / 45.04778; 9.70056
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province	Piacenza (PC)
Frazioni	Vallera, San Bonico, Pittolo, La Verza, Mucinasso, I Vaccari, Roncaglia, Montale, Borghetto, Le Mose, Mortizza, Gerbido
Government
• Mayor	Katia Tarasconi (PD)
Area [1]
• Total	118.46 km2 (45.74 sq mi)
Elevation	61 m (200 ft)
Population  (31-5-2020)[2]
• Total	103,607
• Density	870/km2 (2,300/sq mi)
Demonym	Piacentino
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	29121-29122
Dialing code	0523
Patron saint	Antonino of Piacenza (4 July), Giustina
Website	Official website

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. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more than 102,000 inhabitants.^[3][4]

Westernmost major city of the region of Emilia-Romagna, it has strong relations with Lombardy, with which it borders, and in particular with Milan. It was defined by Leonardo da Vinci as a "Land of passage" in his Codex Atlanticus, by virtue of its crucial geographical location.^[5] This strategic location would influence the history of Piacenza significantly at several times.

Piacenza integrates characteristics of the nearby Ligurian and Piedmontese territories added to a prevalent Lombard influence, favored by communications with the nearby metropolis, which attenuate its Emilian footprint.^[6][7][8]

Piacenza is located at a major crossroads at the intersection of Route E35/A1 between Bologna and Milan, and Route E70/A21 between Brescia and Turin. Piacenza is also at the confluence of the Trebbia, draining the northern Apennine Mountains, and the River Po, draining to the east.

Piacenza hosts three universities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Polytechnic University of Milan and University of Parma.

Etymology

The etymology is long-standing, tracing an origin from the Latin verb placēre, "to please".^[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.^[11]

History

Ancient history

Pre-Roman era

Before its settlement by the Romans, the area was populated by other peoples; specifically, just prior to the Roman settlement, the region on the right bank of the Po River between the Trebbia River and the Taro River had been occupied by the Ananes or Anamari, a tribe of Cisalpine Gauls.^[12] Before then, according to Polybius,^[13] "These plains were anciently inhabited by Etruscans" before the Gauls took the entire Po Valley from them.

Roman age

in May 218 BC, Piacenza and Cremona were founded as Roman military colonies. The Romans had planned to construct them after the successful conclusion of the latest war with the Gauls ending in 219 BC. 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. Each colony was to be settled by 6,000 Roman citizens, but the cities were to receive Latin Rights;^[14] that is, they were to have the same legal status as the many colonies that had been co-founded by Rome and towns of Latium.

The reaction of the region's Gauls was swift; they drove the colonists off the lands. Taking refuge in Mutina, the colonists sent for military assistance. A small force under Lucius Manlius was prevented from reaching the area. The Senate then sent two legions under Gaius Atelius. 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. Piacenza must have been walled immediately, as the walls were in place when the Battle of the Trebia was fought around the city in December. There is no evidence either textual or archaeological of a prior settlement at that exact location; however, such a site would have been obliterated by construction. Piacenza was the fifty-third colony to be placed by Rome following its foundation.^[15] It was the first among the Gauls of the Po valley.

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.^[16] In 200 BC, the Gauls sacked and burned the city, selling the inhabitants into slavery.^[17] Subsequently, the victorious Romans restored the city and managed to recover 2,000 of its citizens. In 198 BC, a combined force of Gauls and Ligurians plundered the whole region. As the people had never recovered from being sold into slavery, in 190 BC, they complained to Senate of underpopulation; in response the Senate sent 3,000 new settlers.^[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.

The Liver of Piacenza, a bronze model of a sheep's liver for the purposes of haruspicy was discovered in 1877 at Gossolengo just to the south of Piacenza. It bears witness to the survival of the disciplina Etrusca well after the Roman conquest.

Although sacked and devastated several times, the city always recovered and by the sixth century Procopius was calling it "the principal city in the country of Aemilia".^[19]

The first Bishop of Piacenza (322–357), San Vittorio, declared Saint Antoninus of Piacenza, a soldier of the Theban Legion (and not to be confused with the sixth-century Antoninus of Piacenza), the patron saint of Piacenza and had the first basilica constructed to honor the saint in 324. The basilica was restored in 903 and rebuilt in 1101,^[20] again in 1562, and is still a church today. The remains of the bishop and the soldier-saint are in urns under the altar. The theme of Antoninus, protector of Piacenza, is well known in art.

Middle Ages

Piacenza was sacked during the course of the Gothic War (535–554). After a short period of being reconquered by the Roman emperor Justinian I, it was conquered by the Lombards, who made it a duchy seat. 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. Its population and importance grew further after the year 1000. That period marked a gradual transfer of governing powers from the feudal lords to a new enterprising class, as well to the feudal class of the countryside.

In 1095, the city was the site of the Council of Piacenza, in which the First Crusade was proclaimed. From 1126, Piacenza was a free commune and an important member of the Lombard League. In this role, it took part in the war against Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor and in the subsequent battle of Legnano (1176). It also successfully fought the neighbouring communes of Cremona, Pavia, and Parma, expanding its territory. 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. The preliminaries of the Peace of Constance were signed in 1183 in the Saint Antoninus church. Agriculture and trade flourished in these centuries and Piacenza became one of the richest cities in Europe. This is reflected in the construction of many important buildings and in the general revision of the urban plan. Struggles for control were commonplace in the second half of the thirteenth century, similarly to the large majority of Medieval Italian communes. The Scotti family, Pallavicini family and Alberto Scoto [it] (1290–1313) in that order, held power during the period. Scoto's government ended when the Visconti of Milan captured Piacenza, which they would hold until 1447. Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti rewrote Piacenza's statutes and relocated the University of Pavia to the city. Piacenza then became a possession of the House of Sforza until 1499.

Modern era

Chiefly due to the expansion of agriculture in the countryside surrounding Piacenza, the city progressed economically and a coin from the sixteenth century (that is displayed to the right) declares that by featuring the motto: Placentia floret ("Piacenza flourishes") on one of its sides. Also in the course of that century a new city wall was erected. Piacenza, as part of the Duchy of Milan, was ruled, at alternate times, by the Sforza and by France until 1521, when, under Pope Leo X, it became part of the Papal States. From 1545, following the creation of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza by Pope Paul III to his son Pier Luigi Farnese, the city was ruled by the House of Farnese.^[21]

Piacenza was the capital city of the duchy until Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (1547–1586), moved the capital to Parma. The city underwent some of its most difficult years during the rule of Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma (1622–1646). Out of the population of 30,000 in the city between 6,000 and 13,000 Piacentini died from famine and plague. The city and its countryside were ravaged by bandits and French soldiers as well.

Between 1732 and 1859, Parma and Piacenza were ruled by the House of Bourbon. In the eighteenth century, several edifices that belonged to noble families such as Scotti, Landi, and Fogliani were built in Piacenza.

In 1802, Napoleon's army annexed Piacenza to the French Empire. 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.

The Habsburg government of Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (1816–1847), is remembered fondly as one of the best in the history of Piacenza. The duchess drained many lands, built several bridges across the Trebbia and the Nure and created educational and artistic activities.

Union with Italy

Austrian troops occupied Piacenza until, in 1860, a plebiscite marked the entrance of the city into the Kingdom of Sardinia. 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. The Piacentini enrolled en masse in Giuseppe Garibaldi's army for the Expedition of the Thousand.

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

In June 1865, the first railway bridge over the Po River in northern Italy was inaugurated (in southern Italy a railroad bridge had been built across the river in 1839). In 1891, the first Chamber of Workers was created in Piacenza.^{[citation needed]}

World War II

During World War II, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies because of its strategic elements. The important railway and road bridges across the Trebbia and the Po and the railway yards were destroyed. The historic centre of city suffered collateral damage. In 1944, the bridges over the Po became vital for the supply from Austria of Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's Gothic Line, which protected the withdrawal of Kesselring's troops from Italy. Foremost among these were the railway and road bridges at Piacenza, along with supply depots and railway yards. In Operation Mallory Major, July 12–15, allied medium bombers from Corsica flew 300 sorties a day, knocking out 21 bridges east of Piacenza and then continued to the west for a total of 90 by July 20. Fighter-bombers prevented reconstruction and cut roads and rail lines. By August 4, all the cities of northern Italy were isolated and had suffered heavy bombing, especially Piacenza. Transport to Genoa to the south or through Turin to the north was impossible; nevertheless, Kesselring continued to supply his men.^[22]

On the hills and the Apennine Mountains, partisans were active. On April 25, 1945, a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement broke out and on 29 April, troops of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force entered the city. In 1996, president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro honoured Piacenza with the gold medal for Valour in Battle.

There was a prisoner of war (POW) camp located in Piacenza, Veano Camp PG 29.

Geography

Climate

Climate in this area is humid subtropical with no dry season, constantly moist. Summers are hot and sultry. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa" (Humid subtropical climate).^[23]