| Scandolara Ravara | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Lombardy | |
| Territory | Oglio Po | |
| Altitude | m 30 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 17 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 1.413 (2016) | |
| Name inhabitants | Scandolaresi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0375 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 26040 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
Position
| ||
| Institutional website | ||
Scandolara Ravara is a center of the Lombardy.
To know
Geographical notes
It is located a short distance from the river Po, in the province of Cremona, in the provincial area of Casalasco.
Background
In remote times Scandolara must have been much closer to the bed of the Po river, if one of its ancient names was Scandolara Ripa di Po (1211). The village probably stood along the road of the embankments that connected the Roman Cremona to Brixellum; In fact, Roman finds have occurred in all the centers that were interested in this important communication route. In Scandolara the best known and most consistent find is theAltar of Ilumvius, a funerary altar from a Roman tomb, built in granite, now preserved in the Archaeological Museum of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. This material, which is not found in the area, is present in many finds made in the Este area. (Ateste) in Veneto; this shows that Scandolara was interested in commercial exchanges with those areas, reachable by river and also by land, through the Roman road Postumia.
The recurrent floods and floods of the Po, which periodically changed its course, not yet governed by sufficiently powerful embankments, markedly changed the conformation of the countryside around Scandolara and the Old Church, which was no longer found to be lapped by the river. The origin of the name would indicate, according to some linguists, an agglomeration placed on a hill, therefore raised above the waters of the Po which often flooded the countryside making the area swampy and almost lagoon.
From 1426 to 1870 Scandolara was part of the Ponzone fiefdom, without however benefiting from it, since the center of the feudal lords was Castelponzone, where the Castle was located, where the market was held, where the feudal power was managed. Scandolara encompasses the nucleus of houses called Ravara, which gathered around the church of Sant'Antonio. In the twentieth century the dissolved Municipality of Castelponzone, which thus suffered the long decline following the crisis in the production of rope makers and the end of its important role as a commercial market of provincial importance.
How to orient yourself
Scandolara Ravara: full screen map.How to get
By plane
The nearest airports are:
- Airport Giuseppe Verdi of Parma
- Airport Valerio Catullo of Verona
- Airport Gabriele D 'Annunzio of Montichiari (BS)
- Airport Caravaggio of Orio al Serio (BG)
- Airport Guglielmo Marconi from Bologna
By car
It is connected to the provincial road 85 Bassa di Casalmaggiore Casalmaggiore - Cremona and the former state road Giuseppina Cremona - San Giovanni in Croce (Parma - Brescia connection).
On the train
- Station of San Giovanni in Croce, on the Parma - Brescia line
By bus
- It has its own stop on the Casalmaggiore - Scandolara Ravara - Cremona bus line
How to get around
What see
- Church of the Madonna della Pace (Old Church (Céesa Vécia)). At the end of the town stands the Old Church, the oldest monument of Scandolara Ravara, the southern culmination of the Roman centuriate area of which evident traces remain around the nearby town of Castelponzone. Probably built along the ancient 'via degli argini' mentioned by numerous ancient sources, which starting from Cremona touched the location of Sex Pilae (today Sigh) to reach San Daniele ripa di Po and Scandolara Ripa di Po. The antiquity of the place is demonstrated by the presence until 1850 of theAltar of Ilumvius, a Roman funeral monument, reused for centuries as a baptismal font, which is now located in Milan in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Corso Magenta.
Of it remains today in the Church, walled next to the entrance door, a sort of marble bowl with Roman inscriptions that have never been the subject of study.The construction or rather the reconstruction of the church dates back to the years around the year 1000, but the finding in situ of the Roman funerary monument and the very presence of the tower transformed into a bell tower could testify to the existence of previous buildings. A tenacious oral tradition traces the foundation of the church in the forms in which we know it today to the emperor Frederick Barbarossa who had his most faithful and strong supporters in the Italian military campaigns in the Cremona area. Castlas (Castellazzo) of clear Roman origin, never investigated archaeologically despite the numerous testimonies of pottery findings. During the 1990s, the municipal administration set up a waste dump in that field, without carrying out the slightest archaeological essay.The sacred link between the place and the cult of the dead, the subject of a strong oral tradition, is testified by an impressive number of human bones unearthed in 2008 when the foundations were waterproofed.A painting preserved inside the building, dating back to around 1450, depicts the temple not far from the river which today is about 6 kilometers from the inhabited. A phenomenon common to all the coastal municipalities between Cremona and Scandolara since the river Po, at least until the seventh century, flowed much further north than the current course.
Built shortly after 1100, the Church also known as Santa Maria della Pace, was part of the assets of the monastery of San Gabriele of the Cluniac order, under the papal patronage. In 1152 it passed from Chapel to Temple. Of considerable importance was the discovery in about 1930 of a wooden crucifix from the 12th century recently attributed to masters of the French school, now preserved in the main church of Scandolara. The apse seems to be prior to the construction of the church that has come down to us; it is made very bright by two large side windows. Until the early 1980s, a very ancient custom, known to all women in the area, is witnessed to scratch the lower part of a fresco depicting the Madonna to encourage the arrival of breast milk and make births less painful. Possible proof of the existence of strong pagan influences in all the popular culture of the surrounding area, permeated by a strong peasant tradition, by precise rituals linked to the cultivation of grapes and by the strict observation of the lunar phases.
The façade of the church is gabled, in the characteristic Lombard Romanesque style. Arches in terracotta embellish the facade; the portal is underlined by a simple arched crease: above two mullioned windows, inserted in 1780, give light to the interior.
The bell tower retains the original structure. The mullioned windows of the belfry have columns in the round. The bell tower was originally a watchtower near a ford or a passage over the river Po, built at least a century before the church; its construction can perhaps be traced back to other similar ones raised in various points of the Po valley to cope with the last nomadic raid of which traces remain in written sources. That of the Hungarian knights who in the tenth century invested the eastern part of the plain, causing death and massacres.The highest part reveals, even in the different color of the bricks, its subsequent elevation, or its repair following ruinous events such as the numerous earthquakes of which several written testimonies remain in the Cremonese history. In the area, however, it is the best preserved and least remodeled example of a Lombard-Romanesque tower.
- Parish church. The construction of the temple dates back to 1626. The primitive façade in Baroque style, demolished because the rise far protruding beyond the roof threatened to collapse towards the square, was replaced in 1825 with the current neoclassical style designed by architect Luigi Voghera. The completion of the facade, however, took place only in 1935 with the placement of the 5 statues (Moses, Elijah, the Redeemer, St. Peter and Paul) and the 3 bas-reliefs depicting Jesus who enters Jerusalem, Jesus who welcomes children, Jesus who preaches to the crowds. The high relief that decorates the tympanum represents the Assumption, to which the Church is consecrated.
- Leaning against the southern side of the Church is the small Oratory of the Madonna del Carmine.
- Church of Sant'Antonio Abate.
- Castelponzone (see). fraction to the north, center of urban interest. The country of rope makers it is worth a visit for its urban structure of a Padano village with porticoes preserved without distortion. It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Events and parties
- Patronal feast of Santa Maria Assunta. August 15.
- Festival of San Luca. At the end of October in Castelponzone.
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Trattoria Pavone, via Marconi 112, ☎ 39 0375 95282.
- 2 Vesuvius, via Buschini 16 (to Castelponzone), ☎ 39 0375 350296.
- Osteria Antiche Sere, via Buschini 11 (to Castelponzone), ☎ 39 0375 350345.
- 3 Pizzeria Al Gambero Rosso, via Marconi 162, ☎ 39 0375 95541.
Where stay
Safety
Pharmacy
- 1 Corbari, via Europa 33, ☎ 39 0375 95148.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- Italian post, Italy Square 3, ☎ 39 0375 350179.
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
- San Martino del Lago - The Sanctuary of Caruberto, located in its municipal territory, is a building of Romanesque origins isolated in the countryside and preserves valuable frescoes from the early fifteenth century or perhaps even earlier.
- Torre de 'Picenardi - Villa Sommi Picenardi developed from a pre-existing castle nucleus; starting from the sixteenth century it was transformed in the following centuries up to its present appearance. A body of the villa, in neoclassical style, overlooks the town square. A second factory develops inside and is connected to the ancient body of the primitive castle. A large garden surrounds the villa complex, surrounded by a large moat with water.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Scandolara Ravara
Commons contains images or other files on Scandolara Ravara
