| Alseno | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Emilia Romagna | |
| Territory | Piacentino | |
| Altitude | 79 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 55.27 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 4.721 (2019) | |
| Name inhabitants | Alsenesi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0523 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 29010 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | San Martino (11 November) | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Alseno is a center ofEmilia Romagna.
To know
The tourist and artistic interest of the locality is linked toChiaravalle della Colomba Abbey, a large monastic complex built in the territory of the homonymous hamlet.
Geographical notes
It is located in the Po Valley of Emilia between Fiorenzuola d'Arda is Fidenza.
Background
Village founded in Roman times. In ancient times the village was called Senum probably due to its sinuous location, hence Seno and today Alseno. In Roman times the Via Emilia passed through Alseno, which connected Ariminum (Rimini) with Placentia (Piacenza) and then continue, thanks to a subsequent extension, up to Milan (Mediolanum).
In the early Middle Ages, in the middle of the Lombard period, Alseno was subject to the Colombanian monks of the powerful Abbey of San Colombano and the great monastic fief of Bobbio, who founded the monastery to evangelize the territory, naming it after Colombano di Bobbio. The religious fostered the expansion of trade, agriculture and culture, introducing important innovations and opening new ways (as far as Alseno appears, for now, there is no relationship with the monastery of San Colombano di Bobbio; its church, dedicated to St. Martino, depended, as a priory, on the monastery of Santa Maria Assunta in Castione de 'Marchesi, founded by the Obertenghi, subsequently it was affected by the influence of the Cistercian monastery of Chiaravalle della Colomba founded directly by San Bernardo. The church of Lusurasco dedicated to San Colombano it was co-founded by the monastery of San Savino di Piacenza.
The capital was an ancient feud of the Landi house and it is for this reason that the building that stands on a hill in the center of Alseno is called Palazzo Landi, even if the inhabitants call it La Vigna (it later became the seat of a kindergarten ).
How to orient yourself
Alseno: full screen map.Its municipal territory also includes the hamlets of Castelnuovo Fogliani, Chiaravalle della Colomba, Cortina and Lusurasco.1 Bus Parking coach parking near the Abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba
Neighborhoods
The capital is made up of the districts:
- Center
- Big Houses corresponding to the original historical core of the village, which is now decentralized with respect to the urban core
- Thumbelella residential area to the west, developed in the 70s and 80s and still expanding
How to get
By plane
- 2 Parma airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese locality (20 minutes by car), ☎ 39 0521 951511.
- 3 Bologna airport (G.Marconi), Via Triumvirato 84 (1 hour by car), ☎ 39 051 6479615.
- 4 Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (Caravaggio), Via Aeroporto 13, Orio al Serio, ☎ 39 035 326323.
- 5 Brescia Airport (D'Annunzio), Via Aeroporto 34, Montichiari (Connections with Brescia airport are guaranteed by public transport via the bus. The stop a Brescia city is located at the bus station (number 23), while that of the airport is at the front of the terminal. There are also connections to the city of Verona via bus / shuttle line 1), ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected]. Charter only
- 6 Verona Airport (Catullus), Boxes of Sommacampagna, ☎ 39 045 8095666, @[email protected].
- 7 Milan-Linate (Enrico Forlanini) (1 hour by car).
By car
- From Milan: A1 Autostrada del Sole motorway, exit at Fiorenzuola, follow the direction for Fiorenzuola d'Arda, SP 462R up to Fiorenzuola, then take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" up to Alseno.
- From Bologna: A1 Autostrada del Sole motorway, exit at Fidenza/Salsomaggiore Terme, follow the direction for Fidenza, then take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" up to Alseno.
- From Brescia: A21 motorway, follow the directions for Fiorenzuola, continue on the SP 462R to Fiorenzuola, then take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" to Alseno.
- From Genoa: A21 motorway and follow the directions for Bologna, continue on the A1 Autostrada del Sole, exit at Fiorenzuola, continue on the SP 462R to Fiorenzuola, then take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" to Alseno.
- From Spice: Autostrada della Cisa A15 continue on the Autostrada del Sole A1, exit at Fidenza / Salsomaggiore Terme, follow the signs to Fidenza, then take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" to Alseno.
- From Piacenza: take the SS 9 "Via Emilia" in the direction of Fiorenzuola d'Arda, continue until Alseno.
On the train
- The nearest station is that of Fiorenzuola at about 6 km, located along the railway line Milan - Bologna. Continue to Alseno by bus with the "Tempi" extra-urban lines.
By bus
- Bus lines of the company Autolinee Tempi S.p.A. (Transport and Mobility Piacentini) [1][link not working]
How to get around
What see
Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey - cloister and view of the church 1
Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey - Nave
Infiorata of 2016
- 1 Chiaravalle della Colomba Abbey (in the homonymous hamlet of Chiaravalle della Colomba).
8:30-12; 14:30-18:30. The abbey was founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux himself around 1136. The complex was born when Bernardo accepted the pleas of the bishop Arduino of Piacenza and of his people: it was typical of Cistercian monasteries, in fact, to settle in disadvantaged areas, actively working to cultivate and reclaim them and channeling the effort of spiritual asceticism through hard work. In this sense, the formula is famous Pray and work.
8:30-12; 14:30-18:30. The abbey was founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux himself around 1136. The complex was born when Bernardo accepted the pleas of the bishop Arduino of - The first document that reports its official existence is an institutionis paginam of Bishop Arduino himself of 1136. With it the prelate grants the first land assets to the monastery, which will be followed by others by the Marquis Pallavicino and Cavalcabò. However, the work on the body of the basilica began after 1145 and continued for the following two hundred years. The first papal privilege comes on 7 February 1137 by Pope Innocent II. The monastery will then be received under the protection of the Apostolic See by Pope Lucius II, with the Lateran on 12 July 1144.
- Already in this ancient document reference is made to the name of the dove. In fact, according to legend, while the monks were building the church in a different area, a dove began to circle in front of them, collecting straws and taking them to a place about three hundred meters further north, outlining a perimeter of the church and making us understand to the Cistercians the correct place to build. It was the area of San Michele Arcangelo, which is remembered with a chapel on the side of the apse. However, it is much more likely that the title to Santa Maria della Colomba refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit into Mary's womb during the Annunciation.
- The monastery, however, was often prey to raids, such as that of 1214 by the various armies that competed for control of the territory. Several monks were killed in the sacking and consequent fire of 1248 by Frederick II of Swabia. Another serious problem arose when the use of the commenda became valid. According to this custom, a given abbey or monastery was assigned an illustrious person as prior. He usually lived far away from the monastery itself, rarely took care of it and more usually limited himself to collecting the substantial economic income. The abbey of Chiaravalle della Colomba, famous seat of religious, scientific, literary and agronomic activities, was given in commendation in 1444. However, not all the commendatory abbots neglected the abbey, which is why the complex of buildings expanded considerably also in the 17th and 18th centuries.
- In 1769, following a decree of suppression by the Duke of Parma, the monks left the abbey and were welcomed in that of San Martino de 'Bocci. In 1777, after paying a ransom, the monks were able to return to their abbey, but two Napoleonic decrees, in 1805 and 1810, confiscated the assets and suppressed the monastic institution. The religious were removed, two monks remained in Chiaravalle, one as parish priest and one as teacher and a lay brother with the functions of sacristan. The archive, library and furnishings were dispersed; the thousand hectares of land and buildings became the property of the Civil Hospitals of Piacenza.
- Until 1937 the care of the parish and the abbey premises was entrusted to an abbot-parish priest of the secular clergy, while the monument was exposed to all kinds of abuses. Monsignor Guglielmo Bertuzzi, from the early twentieth century abbot parish priest of Chiaravalle, began to recover the history and premises of the abbey, and convinced the Superintendency to carry out restoration campaigns that allowed to bring out masterpieces such as the Crucifixion of the Sacristy and to consolidate the other premises. He also managed to bring back the Cistercian monks through an agreement, in 1937, between the Bishop of Piacenza and the Cistercian Congregation of Casamari.
- In 1976 the architectural complex became state property and the state superintendencies continued the long itinerary of restorations that led the abbey to be as bright as it once was. Chiaravalle has resumed being the seat of study conferences and sees a continuous influx of visitors. The monks then took care of the parish and the complex itself, which has had several restorations over the years and still needs others. Today it is the seat of spiritual retreats, study conferences and a destination for visitors looking for the typical products of the monks: liqueurs, herbal teas, herbal medicines, perfumes, precious honeys.
- The most famous liturgical anniversary today is that of Corpus Domini, linked to the Infiorata, that is a long flowered carpet that extends from the entrance of the Abbey to the presbytery, and which presents several paintings depicting sacred motifs, often Eucharistic, which follow each year a different theme. The Infiorata is inaugurated on Corpus Domini Sunday, in the period May-June, and lasts for the following two weeks.
- In addition, the day following Pentecost the Holy Thorn is exposed to the faithful, a precious relic kept in the Abbey that testifies to the passion of Christ.
- The beginning of the construction works is placed shortly after 1145. The completion of the medieval parts, as we see them, is staggered in the following two hundred years, after the destruction of parts of the monastic monastery by Frederick II in 1248. The complex presents the classic Benedictine scheme, with orthogonal elements that allowed subsequent extensions. Inside the basilica we find a salient structure, ribs and hanging arches, while the plant itself is transitional between Romanesque and Gothic. The decoration is essential: St. Bernard disapproved when he called the ridicula monstruositas of the medieval bestiary, and imposed interiors without superfluous decorations. The main body is the basilica, to which adheres a fourteenth-century cloister of particular beauty and value, overlooked by various rooms such as the sacristy, the chapter house, where the monks gathered to decide their tasks, the refectory, the liquoreria or calefactorium, and the staircase that led to the ancient dormitory of the monks, used as the site of a permanent exhibition.
- Parish Church of San Colombano (in the hamlet of Lusurasco). Dedicated to the Irish missionary saint, built on the remains of an ancient building founded by the monks of Bobbio and documented in the 7th century.
- Sforza-Fogliani Palace.
- Landi Palace.
Castelnuovo dei Terzi Fogliani: the original appearance in an ancient fresco
CastelnuovoFogliani in a contemporary image
- 2 Castle (in Castelnuovo Fogliani). The castle of Castelnuovo Fogliani, known as Castelnuovo dei Terzi, was an imposing medieval fortress. Entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth century in the form of a stately building according to a project attributed to the architect Luigi Vanvitelli, of the mighty medieval structure it retains only the towering tower, raised in 1377 by the Visconti leader Niccolò Terzi the Elder.
- The ancient medieval manor, built in the twelfth century, was the residence and strategic base of powerful families from Parma and the Po Valley, such as the from Correggio, i Pallavicino and therefore i Third parties of Parma. In 1364 Niccolò il Vecchio bought from Piacenza Gherardo Visconti the jurisdictions of Castelnuovo and Casale Albino which were then assigned to him as a fief in 1386 by the lord of Milan Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The following year, in 1387, the emperor Wenceslas of Luxembourg with his own diploma signed in Nuremberg, confirmed the fief of those lands, and of numerous other minors in the Parma area, to Niccolò Terzi the Elder, and to his descendants: his sons Ottobuono, with his brother Giacomo, and therefore his nephew Niccolò de 'Terzi, the Warrior who, in the conflict of ups and downs, managed to keep possession of it until 1449. The castle, which became the main strategic base of the family, was then named of Castelnuovo dei Terzi.
- The property then passed to the Terzi di Sissa, to the Dalla Porta, to the Visconti of Piacenza. In 1466 the duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza invested his half-brother Tristano Sforza with the honorific fief Castrinovi land. They were followed by the Fogliani da Reggio who maintained possession of it for three centuries and added their name to the castle and to the village which since then has been called Castelnuovo Fogliani.
- Around the seventeenth century the castle experienced its period of maximum splendor, thanks above all to the architectural renovation of Vanvitelli decided by Duke Giovanni Fogliani. In 1769 he left his nephew Federico Meli Lupi di Soragna heirs of all his possessions with the obligation to assume the House of Fogliani.
- The last descendant of the family was Federico, who appointed his daughter Clelia Sforza Fogliani d’Aragona, wife and soon widow of the Marquis Pallavicino of Parma, as universal heir. The duchess, without descent, in 1925 shortly before her death, donated the palace-castle of Castelnuovo to the Church of Rome. Pope Pius XI decided to make it a university site reserved for women religious intending to perfect their studies. Father Agostino Gemelli, head of the Institute, founder and rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, took on the task of organizing it and the first academic year was inaugurated already in 1926.
- Castle (in Lusurasco). The date of its foundation is unknown; it certainly existed in July 1219 since it is known that the Cremonese troops coming from Fiorenzuola they stayed there. The troops of the Cremonese Guelphs in 1231 caused considerable damage, since Luxurasch at that time was a follower of the Ghibellines. The castle was the center of a fiefdom that belonged to the Terzi, lords of Castelnuovo Fogliani then called Castelnuovo Terzi, then, in 1466, it belonged to the Sforza, who in that period controlled Castell'Arquato, who in 1595 owned it halfway with the Pallavicinos. Finally it passed to the Cerasi who kept it until 1800.
- Lusurasco at the end of 1657, the historian Ottolenghi recalls, was the scene of a very serious episode. The Duke of Modena is Reggio Emilia Francesco I d'Este, returning from the war at the head of thousands of soldiers, spent the night in Fiorenzuola and his troops, scattered everywhere, also settled in Lusurasco. Of six soldiers, guests in an undefined house, five were killed. The sixth, pretending to be dead, gave the alarm and took revenge. The podestà of Piacenza he gave the order to have this house "leveled" and promised a thousand ducats as a reward for those who had given certain news of the culprits. These soon fell into the hands of the duchy. There were five of them, including a cleric. Four of them were executed on the Castellana road by hanging and then quartered. The fifth suffered the same torture two weeks later in Piacenza.
- The building, which has undergone many changes over time, is built with river pebbles and brick, looks like a composite building, with a three-arched portico and a rectangular-based turret. Versa in poor condition, completely abandoned and dilapidated.
- Mistadelli. Popular and rural religiosity led to the construction of votive chapels mainly located along the roads of the Val d'Arda. These monuments, while not presenting particular artistic merits, are however indicative of the religiosity of the agricultural world.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Trattoria Da Gianni tavern, Location Chiaravalle della Colomba 3056, ☎ 39 0523 940133.
- 2 Arcibaldo restaurant bar, Location Chiaravalle della Colomba, 3112, ☎ 39 0523 940119.
- 3 Ancient osteria della Peppina, Via Roma, 275, ☎ 39 0523 190 5390.
- 4 There is Pizza for You, Via Matteotti, 40, ☎ 39 0523 078791.
- 5 Il Casello Restaurant, Via Salamora 247, ☎ 39 0523 945355.
Where stay
Average prices
- 1 Mazzoni Severina Farmhouse, Strada dell 'Agola, 7, ☎ 39 0523 949191.
Safety
- 8 Cortesi Pharmacy, Via Emilia Ovest, 84. 39 0523 949131. , 29010 Alseno PC
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 9 Italian post, Via Carducci, 45, ☎ 39 0523 949006.
- 10 Italian post, Viale Rimembranze 10 (in Castelnuovo Fogliani), ☎ 39 0523 947219.
