Pavia, Italy
Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 kilometres south of Milan on the lower Ticino river.
Pavia is the capital of a fertile province (also named Pavia) essentialy devoted to agriculture (wine, rice, cereals, dairy products). Some industries located in the suburbs do not disturb the peaceful atmosphere which comes from the preservation of the city's past and the climate of study and meditation associated with its ancient University.
History
Dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia (then known as Ticinum Papiæ) was a municipality and an important military site under the Roman Empire.
Here, in 476, Odoacer defeated Orestes after a long siege. To punish the city for helping the rival, Odoacer destroyed it completely. However, Orestes was able to escape in Piacenza, where Odoacer followed and killed him, deposing his son Romulus Augustus. This was commonly considered the end of the Western Roman Empire.
Under the Goths, Pavia became a fortified citadel and their last bulwark in the war against the Eastern Roman Empire. After the Longobard conquest, Pavia became the capital of their kingdom.
After Charlemagne won the battle of Pavia (773), it became the capital of the Regnum Italicum, vassal of the Holy Roman Empire, until the 12th century.
In the following centuries Pavia was an important and active town. Conquered (1359) by the Visconti family, rulers of Milan, it became an intellectual and artistic centre, being the seat from 1361 of the University, which attracted students from many countries.
During the Bourbon-Habsburg Italian Wars the defeat and capture of king Francis I of France at the Battle of Pavia (1525) ushered in a period of Spanish occupation which lasted until 1713. Pavia was then ruled by the Austrians until 1796, when it was occupied by the French army under Napoleon.
In 1815, it again passed under Austrian administration until the Second War of Independence (1859) and the unification of Italy one year later.
Famous Citizens
