Martignana di Po - Martignana di Po

Martignana di Po is a center of the Lombardy.

To know

Geographical notes

On the left bank of the Po river, in the lower Lombard Po Valley, Martignana is part of the Casalasca area of ​​the district Oglio Po on the border with Cremonese. It is 4 kilometers from Casalmaggiore.

Background

Numerous findings, although not such as to suggest a settlement of important dimensions, suggest that the area of ​​Martignana was inhabited in Roman times, or that at least there was some military, commercial or post station along the road of the embankments that from Cremona led to Brixellum through Scandolara Ravara, Gussola, Vicobellignano, ViadanaBefore the year 1000 Martignana begins to appear in documents.

Like the other centers in the area, it was later disputed between the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice, until his destiny is linked to Milan and its events.In 1484 Gian Galeazzo Sforza, Duke of Milan, the fief with Gussola is San Giovanni in Croce to the leader Giampietro Carminati Bergamino. In the seventeenth century, still being part of the fiefdom that sees San Giovanni in Croce as the main center, his investiture passed to Captain Alfonso Pimentel; then again to Gian Giacomo Annoni.

Subject to the excesses of the Po, which periodically flooded large areas, and which over the centuries diverted its course several times, Martignana moved back its houses further from the river, leaving the ancient church isolated at the foot of the current embankment, in memory of which the small chapel of San Serafino can be seen today.

This is a story common to the coastal towns of Casalasco, which many rebuilt the houses further inside: Scandolara Ravara, Gussola, Vicobellignano, Fossacaprara, or they saw districts ruined by the erosion of the banks (for example in Casalmaggiore the Piazza del Mercato, or piazza del Santo).

With the unification of Italy the town took on the name of Martignana di Po.

In recent years Martignana di Po has had a strong increase in inhabitants, favored by the policy of support for building activity adopted by the Municipal Administration. The possibility of buying houses at lower prices than in the municipalities of the area, and the proximity of Martignana to Casalmaggiore, has favored the movement of many people, especially from the nearby city. The 2001 census recorded 1,258 inhabitants; that of 2011 counted 1,893: a percentage increase of 50.5%, with 638 more Martignanesi.

The curiosity

Martignana di Po is twinned with the almost homonymous Martiniana Po, located in Piedmont in the Cuneo area.

How to orient yourself

How to get

By plane

The nearest airports are:

• Airport Giuseppe Verdi of Parma - km. 29
• Airport Valerio Catullo of Verona - km. ninety two
• Airport Gabriele D'Annunzio of Montichiari (BS) - km. 50
• Airport Caravaggio of Orio al Serio (BG) - km. 140
• Airport Guglielmo Marconi of Bologna - km. 115

By car

• It is located on the provincial road 85 Cremona Casalmaggiore - Bassa di Casalmaggiore
• It is a short distance from the former state road AsolanaParma - Casalmaggiore - Buttonhole - Brescia which delimits the territory to the north.

On the train

• Station a Casalmaggiore (4 km.) On the line ParmaBrescia.

By bus

• It has its own stop on the bus line Casalmaggiore - Scandolara Ravara - Cremona

How to get around

What see

• The Parish Church of Santa Lucia

In the parish church, in the side aisle, there is a small fourteenth-century fresco of the Madonna and Child coming from the ancient gothic church of 1300 that stood where now there is the chapel of San Serafino. The new church dates back to 1754 and was built to serve the town that had moved away from the banks of the Po; its current appearance is due to the reconstruction of 1882.

Of neoclassical style in the facade, it has a baroque interior with a Latin cross, has three chapels on each side, and an altar at each end of the transept. The presbytery has an altar and marble inlays.

The temple preserves some valuable works carried out by Giovanni Battista Trotti, known as il Malosso and by Andrea Mainardi called il Keyghino, who were pupils of Bernardino Campi, of the well-known family of Cremonese artists.

Next to the sacred building stands the bell tower, which reaches 45 meters in height. An ancient well still exists in the square on which the church overlooks.

• The palace La Bastia - Villa Fadigati

Imposing, austere, with something mysterious, the ancient palace called Bastia welcomes us just outside the country. It rises in the position where defense works were perhaps formerly erected. An aristocratic residence of considerable charm, it boasts furnishings from various eras, paintings, tapestries, Murano and Bohemian chandeliers. Surrounded by a high wall, the entrance is preceded by a centuries-old park; on the opposite side a remarkable garden; on one side it has its own small oratory named after the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

Four bodies with four corner towers develop around the central hall, giving the building the image of a house - fort that probably gave rise to the name of Bastia; construction is also called Villa Fadigati , a noble Cremonese family that purchased it in 1793 after it had passed through various properties after the primitive owners who had it built, the Lodi marquises. The whole echoes Venetian suggestions of a Palladian influence.

• The Cascina Ca 'Nova

On the former Asolana state road, the vast volume of the Ca 'Nova farmhouse stands out, with a rectangular courtyard, typical of the Casalasche countryside. So large that in the past it could accommodate up to a hundred people, it was even a hamlet of Martignana di Po. For the use of its inhabitants, the farmhouse had its own church dedicated to San Giovanni Battista, which still exists today. The whole complex is in good condition.

The oratory has architectural lines of a slight baroque. The body of the facade protrudes on one side of the quadrangular layout of the building, and is enclosed by two lateral columns with ribs.

The play of curved lines of the portal and of the trefoil window towards the rounded tympanum enliven the facade, further enriched towards the top by a niche that encloses the statue of the Saint.

Environment

• Maria-Luigia Island
• PLIS Floodplain of the Po (under recognition)

Events and parties

• Patronal feast of Saint Lucia - 13 December
• San Serafino Fair - second Sunday in September
• Festa del Grano, before the San Serafino Fair

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

• Pizzeria Bar Sport, via Bardellina 63 (along the Lower Provincial Road of Casalmaggiore), ☎ 39 0375 260121. 

Where stay

Safety

Pharmacy

• 45.0107310.3785871 Municipal, Via della Libertà, 76, ☎ 39 0375 261241. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• Italian post office, via della Libertà 62, tel. 39 0375 260135

Keep informed

• Oglio Po news. Computer newspaper of Oglio Po. 
• ^{[link not working]}The Envoy. Online newspaper of the province - Casalmaggiore Chronicle. 
• The province, Via Pozzi, 15, ☎ 39 0375 200493, fax: 39 0375 201466. Daily newspaper - Casalmaggiore editorial staff. 

Around

• Casalmaggiore - Capital of Casalasco, protected by mighty embankments, the city develops parallel to the bed of the Po. The wide breath of the main square, the undeniable majesty of the Town Hall and the Cathedral reveal its character as an important center of the Bassa. The Sanctuary of the Madonna della Fontana, the church of Santa Chiara, the church of the Hospital are among its outstanding monuments.
• Castelponzone - The country of rope makers, to which the local museum is dedicated, has maintained its appearance of an old Po Valley center with porticoes; in its urban planning you can guess the design of the fortifications it once had, when it was a feud and Castle of the Ponzone. It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
• Scandolara Ravara - The Old church, of Romanesque origin, isolated at the end of the village near the cemetery, contains a surprising treasure of frescoes and constitutes one of the most important examples of the period in the area ofOglio Po.
• San Giovanni in Croce - Villa Medici del Vascello is the castle of the Lady of the Ermine of the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. It was Cecilia Gallerani, the Lady of the portrait, who began her transformation from a military structure to a stately home, lightening the warlike aspect of its primitive fifteenth-century foundation. The Villa is surrounded by a large park and a high wall that does not prevent you from seeing its elegant beauty.
• Casteldidone - Villa Mina della Scala is a fascinating castle building that embodies the grandeur of the castle and the elegance of the villa. Built in the sixteenth century, remodeled in the seventeenth century and then in the eighteenth century, the castle that became a palace and villa still looks majestic and fascinating in the countryside of Casteldidone, not far from the other splendid villa - castle of San Giovanni in Croce.
• Sabbioneta - City of foundation, UNESCO World Heritage Site, maintains the walls within which the magic of ideal urban planning by Vespasiano Gonzaga has remained intact; the Teatro all'Antica, the Palazzo Ducale, the Gallery, the Incoronata church are some of its monuments that stand out in a context that has been admirably preserved.
• Colorno - Its Royal Palace belonged to the Sanseverino family, then to the Farnese family, to Maria Luigia of Austria, to the Bourbons; it is by far the most important monument of this little Versailles Parma, which also offers a small but beautiful historic center, close to the Lorno stream that gives it its name and Parma, not far from the Po.

Itineraries

• Historic villages of the Po - The itinerary, from west to east or vice versa, leads to know some historic villages that rise near the "great river".

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Martignana di Po
• Commons contains images or other files on Martignana di Po

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