Voghera - Voghera

Voghera
The dome
StateItaly
RegionLombardy
TerritoryOltrepò Pavese
Altitude96 m a.s.l.
Surface63.28 km²
Inhabitants38.174 (2011 census)
Name inhabitantsVogheresi or Iriensi
Prefix tel 39 0383
POSTAL CODE27058
Time zone UTC 1
PatronFriday before the Ascension
Position
Map of Italy
Reddot.svg
Voghera
Institutional website

Voghera is a city of Lombardy, capital ofOltrepò Pavese.

To know

Geographical notes

The territory of Voghera is located in the south-western part of Lombardy, south of the river Po. It rises on the banks of the Staffora stream in the initial edge of the Po plain, a few kilometers from the beginning of the first hilly strip. The city is located at the 45th parallel that is signaled, on the A21 motorway Turin-Piacenza, near Voghera by a billboard that overlooks the two motorway lanes. It borders the Piedmont, is the most important city ofOltrepò Pavese and represents an important railway and road junction as well as a renowned wine and industrial center.

Background

The human presence in the area is documented as early as the Neolithic. In historical times the ancient Voghera is recognized in the Roman Iria, heir of a previous village inhabited by Iberian, Celtic and Ligurian Iriati populations (from which the toponym originated) .At the end of the 6th century the name changes, giving rise to the current one: "Vicus Iriae" then popularized in "Vicus Eira" and then "Viqueria". The medieval village was built on the remains of the ancient Roman colony. During the seventh and eighth centuries the urban core, due to the benefits of the proximity of the Lombard capital (Pavia), developed on the old “castrum” and saw the first fortification works arise. The ancient one passed through Voghera via Postumia, which connected Genoa to Aquileia.

In 774 with the submission of the Lombard Kingdom to Charlemagne, the village of Viqueria was annexed to the diocese of Tortona. It is in this period that Voghera, in addition to becoming a center of intense commercial exchanges, the site of weekly markets and at least two annual fairs, sees its importance increase as a place of transit and stopover for pilgrims headed to the Holy Land and to RomeProof of this is the presence of many hospitals, shelters for wayfarers and the death of San Bovo, which occurred in 986 on his return from a pilgrimage to Rome. The Lombard salt road controlled by the Malaspina passed through Voghera, crossed by columns of mules that starting from Pavia along the Staffora valley reached Genoa through the Giovà pass and Mount Antola.

Under the reign of Arrigo VI (son of Barbarossa) the village emancipated itself from the episcopal power, thus increasing its autonomy. In 1271 the community of Voghera obtained the right to elect the podestà (and the consuls of justice), with effect from 1 January 1272. law. From 1358 Voghera passed under the dominion of the Visconti; except for the period May 1363 - July 1364 , in which it is occupied by the Marquis of Monferrato. In 1361 the Visconti fortified the village, surrounding it with walls and moat and starting the construction of the castle, with imposition on the municipalities of Casteggio, Broni, Casei, Montebello Della Battaglia, Flip it over, Nazzano, Olive, Stone, Fortunago, Montalto, Mondondone, Santa Giuletta, Gerola and salt to contribute to the execution of those works.

In fiefdom in 1436 by Filippo Maria Visconti to the Dal Verme Counts of Bobbio and of Voghera, and then from 1516 marquisate of Bobbio, it remains land of the Duchy of Milan also with the Sforza and with Philip II king of Spain (1598). With the decline of Spanish sovereignty it passed under the Austrian one until 1743 when, under the treaty of Worms (1743), it became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, under Carlo Emanuele III, who elevated Voghera to the capital of the Vogherese province in 1748, including part ofOltrepò and Siccomario, a province that will remain such from 1748 until 1859. On June 8, 1770, with Royal License 112 - reg. 43 -, the King of Sardinia, reorganizing the State administratively, elevates Voghera from village to city. With the French occupation (1796) Voghera, as the district capital, belongs first to the department of Marengo and then to that of Genoa. On 22 June 1815, following the Savoy restoration, he returned to Piedmont and regains the rank of provincial capital.

The nineteenth century, also following the great demographic increase, saw the renewal, modernization and expansion of the city. Therefore the walls are demolished (1821 - 1830) on whose layout the current internal ring road is built. In 1858 the railway station was inaugurated. The following year, at the end of the second war of independence, Voghera, together with the neighboring provinces of Lomellina and Bobbio, became part of the new Province of Pavia as a district. intersection between the lines Milan-Genoa is Turin-Bologna, was hit hard by Allied bombing during World War II. Voghera is also an important center of the Resistance to Nazi-Fascism and at the end of the conflict three Vogheresi, who fell for freedom, were awarded the gold medal for military valor. After the war, Voghera underwent a new architectural and demographic development, renewed and enriched with major structural and road works and consolidated its role as the main center and capital ofOltrepò Pavese.

How to orient yourself

  • Piazza Duomo

It represents the heart of the city and the imposing one overlooks it Duomo, the town hall (Gounela Palace) is Nava house; characterized by a large trapezoidal plan, it is a square with arcades on three sides and the main streets of the historic city center converge on it.

  • Liberation Square

It is one of the main areas of the city, overlooked by the Visconteo Castle and for this reason commonly called "Piazza Castello" by the local population; it is characterized by a quadrangular plant decorated with Italian gardens.

  • Meardi Square

It is an important square open to vehicular traffic and is a focal point of the city; it is characterized by a fountain and a large roundabout where some of the major communication routes of the city converge; adjoins i Public parks Sandro Pertini, who together with the green area surrounding the fountain represent the largest green area close to the city center; it also borders on the former Cavalry barracks Vittorio Emanuele II.

  • Via Emilia

It originates from Piazza Meardi and represents the main street of the city center; it is almost entirely used as a pedestrian area and on it there are numerous commercial activities and there are some of the most significant buildings in the city.

Neighborhoods

In its municipal territory there are also the inhabited centers of Campoferro, Medassino, Oriolo, Torremenapace, Valle.

How to get

By plane

Italian traffic signs - verso bianco.svg

By car

  • Highway A21 Italy.svg It has its own motorway exit on the A21 Turin - Brescia

On the train

  • Italian traffic signs - fs.svg station icon The Voghera railway station is an important communication hub on the railway where the routes for Genoa, Turin, Alexandria, Asti, Milan, Piacenza; from this last station the railway lines continue for all the most important localities in the center and in the south.

By bus

  • Italian traffic sign - bus stop svg The extra-urban car connections, mainly for Pavia and for the smaller towns of Oltrepò Pavese and Lomellina, are managed by ARFEA[1].

There are additional extra-urban connections managed by other companies.

How to get around

By public transport

There is an urban public transport service consisting of two car lines (curiously numbered differently for the round trip routes), managed by the company SAPO (Società Autolinee Pubbhe Oltrepò).

What see

The Cathedral - Collegiate Church of San Lorenzo
  • 1 Duomo (Collegiate Church of San Lorenzo). Dedicated to San Lorenzo and built where a parish church once stood, it is accessible from Via Cavour and visible in the main square of the city. Of the ancient church only the base of the bell tower has survived.
It was rebuilt starting from 1605 and redesigned by Antonio Maria Corbetta who was inspired by the Bramante layout of the cathedral of Pavia. The facade, due to lack of funds, remained unfinished for many years. Finally between 1874 and 1881 on a project by the architect Carlo Maciachini a last span was built inside the building and the final facade was built with two lateral spaces with respect to the main entrance, managed as chapels: on the right the chapel of Maria Child and of the Immaculate Madonna and on the left the chapel of the baptismal font. The interior consists of a central nave and two side aisles. In the central nave we find a fresco of the Madonna del Soccorso, while preserved in an altar of the Collegio Notarile is a painting depicting the visit of Scipione Crespi (XVI-XVII century).
In the center of the church rises a hemispherical dome, more than 47 meters high, resting on four pillars, in each of which there is a niche where it is possible to admire a colossal statue of the Evangelist with the city coat of arms and the eagle at the base. Roman. The dome, surmounted by a lantern and enriched by an octagonal lantern, was designed by the architect Corbetta and frescoed between 1906 and 1908 by Luigi Morgari and Rodolfo Gambini from Turin. Externally, the octagonal lantern is the most characteristic symbol of the Vogherese urban profile.
The left aisle has three altars: the altar of Sant'Antonio Abate, originally in terracotta and subsequently rebuilt in 1953 in marble and gilded wood, the altar of the Notary College and of the Visitation of Mary to Sant'Alisabetta also in marble and with a Renaissance setting and the altar of the Crucifix also known as the altar of the Suffrage, made of polychrome marble in the second half of the eighteenth century. In the right aisle there are three altars: the altar of Santa Caterina da Siena, the altar of the Madonna del Soccorso and the altar of San Michele Arcangelo. All were made of polychrome marble and date back to the late nineteenth century. They depict all three of the religious scenes: in the first Saint Catherine is depicted barefoot in monastic dress, in the second Saint Taddeo with the Virgin and in the third the triumph of Saint Michael.
The treasure of the Cathedral
One of the oldest works that testifies to the splendors of the past is a small reliquary containing a fragment of the Holy Thorn. : This is the thorn of Christ's crown deposited in a safe and kept in Voghera for about 700 years; now owned by the parish and attributable to the Gothic goldsmiths of the other side of the Alps. It is said that the relic came to Voghera with the Crusader Knights, following the wars in the Holy Land, through a sophisticated device, a forklift called the "Cloud" and pushed by hand by a long series of gears. On the base of the Visconti reliquary a painting recalls the figure of St. John, patron of the Sovereign military hospital order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. During the feast of San Bovo it was shown to the people by the Bishop and thousands of people knelt to obtain a blessing.
Antiphonaries
Part not very well known and certainly great artistic and cultural interest in the possession of the cathedral of Voghera are the medieval Antiphonaries. These are large books kept inside the Cathedral and containing the scores of the counter canto to the main voice, reserved for the celebrant during sung masses. The initials of the antiphonaries of the cathedral of Voghera are attributed to the famous Maestro delle Vitae Imperatorum which worked in the thirties of the fifteenth century and donated to the cathedral of Voghera by the Visconti family of Milan. : At the beginning of the verses of these chants there are these representations, called initials, in which there is the representation of a theme relating to the Gospels, or to the life of the saints (for example, representation of prophets or apostles). The miniatures of the drop caps, although made more realistic by the presence of beards and wrinkles, maintain the same unchanged expression in all faces even when the character and the subject matter change. As in all the other paintings ofOltrepò Pavese It is interesting to note that in the antiphonaries of the Cathedral of Voghera it is preferred to use bright, lively and unrealistic colors, not only in creating backgrounds or architectures for the frescoes, but also for the decorative motifs and in this case for the faces with very strong colors but with a fairly effective chiaroscuro effect. Unfortunately, only a small part of the original letters remain, as many were stolen during the Second World War, probably by a German officer, intent on finding everything that had a minimum of value, such as, for example, the gold backgrounds of the miniatures. 
Visconti Castle of Voghera
  • 2 Castle. Imposing defensive brick structure, erected between 1335 and 1372 by the will of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, has a square plan with four massive towers placed at the corners of each side. The north facade, which is the most preserved over the centuries, presents the main entrance to the structure from the Piazza della Liberazione in front, one of the main ones in the city. Recently renovated, inside it presents in the east wing some frescoes of great value by Bartolomeo Suardi, known as Bramantino, depicting the Madonna with Child and Muse 
Temple of the Cavalry - Sant'Ilario and Giorgio
  • 3 Shrine of the Italian Cavalry (Sant'Ilario and Giorgio). A valuable example of 12th century Romanesque architecture, it is the oldest church in the city, dedicated to Sant'Ilario and Giorgio and from a historical point of view it represents one of the main monuments of the city. Due to the color of the bricks used for its construction it is also known as the Red Church. The Italian Cavalry in 1956, officially elected it as a Shrine Temple and the building inside, preserves all the coats of arms belonging to the regiments of the weapon.
Destined in modern times for civil use (in the nineteenth century it was a warehouse), deteriorated and distorted by adaptation works for this use, it even came to discuss its demolition. Fortunately it was only in the twentieth century that the path of safeguarding and recovery was undertaken.
The church, now a shrine temple of the Italian Cavalry, formerly dedicated to Saint Hilary, can be reached from via Verdi or via Garibaldi, taking the cross road which derives its name from the modern title of the building. The Red Church looks like a roof that can be glimpsed beyond the hedges and trees of a public garden. Approaching you can see a portion of the south side and the upper part of the facade. It is in fact located for about one third of its height below the current street level. Only by descending the steps of the modern churchyard can we carefully examine the facade in its entirety: two buttresses of rectangular section, in large blocks of stone, which protrude only slightly from the façade plane, bind seamlessly to the crowning band with arches hanging, which follows the course of the roof, and in which are contained ceramic restoration basins, placed according to a layout that respects the original one. Above these a sawtooth band, contained within two flat cornices, the lower one of which is supported by corbels, emphasizes the two slopes. The decorative party thus implements a framing of the facade, and its value as a "frame" is strongly reaffirmed precisely by the direct link of the last arch of each side with the internal margin of the buttresses, as well as by the obvious coincidence of the end of the sawtooth with their outer margin. Furthermore, a molded sandstone plinth delimits the entire façade at the base.
At the upper limit of what remains of the portal, a string course divides the facade horizontally into two parts. The upper one is divided into three equal parts by two small salients of roughly semicircular section, one of which has lost its crown, the other retains the traces of a small capital. The central portion thus identified is the one on which the restoration interventions carried out from the thirties to the mid-twentieth century have weighed the most, which have created a small opening in the shape of a Greek cross and a mullioned window; a source of the mid-eighteenth century, in describing the building, speaks instead of a three-light window in that position. : The semicircular apse, marked by two brick semi-columns, was rebuilt on the basis of the few remains of the ancient one.
The interior has a single room with a trussed roof; in the upper sector of the wall there are two rows of large ceramic tiles, depicting the coats of arms of the cavalry regiments. Furthermore, the fragments of frescoes in the intrados of the triumphal arch (first half of the 13th century) deserve to be observed, the only remains of a pictorial decoration of which we are not able to specify the original extension. The three most significant fragments are found under the arch of the triumphal arch, one towards the north side and two slightly higher than the kidneys. In the first we recognize the face of a holy bishop, perhaps Saint Hilary, surrounded by a large red halo with a thin white band around it. 
Santa Maria delle Grazie
  • 4 Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie. It is one of the most important and ancient churches of Voghera, an example of Lombard Gothic style and was completed, after various renovations in 1505; initially built as a monastery of Benedictine monks, rebuilt as a place of worship and a Dominican convent, it now belongs to the Franciscan order, which took office in 1820.
It was re-consecrated in 1927, after being closed during the Napoleonic period and was entrusted to the Franciscan Fathers. It is also called the church of the Rosary and houses an important fifteenth-century fresco depicting the Madonna delle Grazie.
It has a singular orientation: the entrance faces north-east, towards the city, rather than west as required by an ancient and deeply rooted liturgical symbolism. The church building exhibits only the left side, incorporating the apse and the other side into the convent. It is built according to a Gothic-Lombard style evident above all in the facade which, presenting a decorative part in terracotta, suggests that it was built in the first half of the 15th century. This is marked by four buttresses, of which the two central ones do not correspond to an actual internal scan, but seem to have the task of containing, also from a visual point of view, the rose window and the portal.
The façade portal, in stone, would not belong to the original structure of the church, with which a brick portal with an arched profile and conch would have been more consistent. It would therefore be a foreign element, a work initially intended for another church, transported here and reassembled at a later time.
The interior consists of a single nave marked by large pointed arches which in turn open onto the 15 chapels, seven on each side, plus the presbytery, which recall the fifteen mysteries of the rosary, in accordance with the original dedication of the church. Upon entering the gaze is struck by the fresco on the triumphal arch, made by C. Secchi in 1941, which frames the high altar, which in forms of harsh essentiality, recalls the figures of the broken bread and the lamp. The organ placed on the counter-façade was built in 1927, with its 1500 pipes and 25 royal registers.
Image of Santa Maria della Grazie
In 1445 the municipality of Voghera obtained from the chapter of San Lorenzo the church of San Michele in Albofassio, near the former asylum, and the surrounding land to found the convent of the minor friars of the Osservanza. The friars lived in this place from 1459 to 1802 and the image that today we can venerate in the church choir had its first seat. Tradition has it that it is a miraculous and sacred image which, when excavations for the construction of the provincial asylum began in 1876, were the pleas and tears of a humble woman, daughter of the gardener of Santa Maria, to save the sacred image from destruction by ensuring that it was moved to another religious building. In the present church the image has been found since 1927. 
  • Social Theater. Its construction took place between the years 1842 and 1845. Equipped with a neoclassical style facade and six hundred seats, it was used for operas, operettas, theatrical performances, a venue for conferences and cinema. It was closed due to safety concerns in 1986, and is now in an advanced refurbishment phase. 
Cavalry barracks
  • 5 Former Cavalry Barracks Vittorio Emanuele II. Monumental complex of military origin, built between 1857 and 1864 and expanded over the years to reach an area of ​​45,000 square meters. It currently houses, in the renovated parts, municipal offices, the Ricottiana Civic Library, the Natural Science Museum and the Historical Museum. 
  • Church of San Giuseppe Calasanzio. Built in the eighteenth century in Baroque style by the Scolopi Fathers, it houses some important works by the Vogherese painter Paolo Borroni. 
  • Church of Santa Maria Assunta or del Carmine. It presents characteristics of the Baroque and Renaissance style. It was founded by the Confraternity of the Recommended in the fourteenth century, but was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. Recently renovated, it is characterized by an interesting dome, frescoed in 1655 by the painter Gian Battista Cane and presents the important work, also restored, of the Transit of San Giuseppe, created by the painter Paolo Borroni. 
  • Church of San Giovanni. It was built in the seventeenth century on the remains of the homonymous oratory. Inside it preserves a large canvas created by the painter Carlo Francesco Nuvolone, which depicts the nativity of San Giovanni Battista. 
  • Church of San Sebastiano. It was built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but the facade was rebuilt in 1844 in a neoclassical style. Inside are the remains of the painter Paolo Borroni. 
  • 6 Church of San Rocco. Built between 1525 and 1578 thanks to the Confraternity of the Holy Name of Jesus, it houses an arm and two phalanges of San Rocco inside. 
Gounela Palace (Town Hall)
  • 7 Gounela Palace (city ​​Hall), Piazza del Duomo. Built between 1844 and 1847 in a neoclassical style, it is the seat of the town hall. Inside there is a fresco by the painter Paolo Emilio Morgari depicting the ceremony of proclamation of Voghera in the city. 
  • Social Theater. Its construction took place between the years 1842 and 1845. Equipped with a neoclassical style facade and six hundred seats, it was used for operas, operettas, theatrical performances, a venue for conferences and cinema. It was closed due to safety concerns in 1986, and is now in an advanced refurbishment phase. 
  • Beltrami Palace. Renovated in a neoclassical style in 1854, it is the site of numerous conferences, located in its Salone del Millenario and of a local newspaper, the Giornale di Voghera. 
Nava house
  • 8 Nava house. Rebuilt in 1903 in a late medieval style, it has a fine portico on the Piazza del Duomo. 
  • Palace of the Canvas. Built by the Della Tela Counts in the 17th century, it was restored in the following century. 
  • Former Bank of Italy building. Built from 1906 to 1911, it is an excellent example of an Art Nouveau building. It is currently the seat of the historical archive and some municipal offices. 
  • Palazzo Dattili della Torre. Built in the eighteenth century and restored in the following century in neoclassical style, it hosted famous people such as Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Pius VII and Napoleon III. 
  • Quartier Grande. Built in 1749 and enlarged in the 19th century, it housed up to four hundred horses and four companies of infantrymen. It currently houses the offices of the Justice of the Peace. 

Museums

  • Natural Science Museum. It is made up of four sections: Zoology, Paleontology, Mineralogy, Botany. 
  • Giuseppe Beccari Historical Museum. It preserves, among the various relics, the A112 of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa and the weapon that killed Benito Mussolini. More generally, the dating of the finds goes from the Napoleonic age to today. The collections include military uniforms, medals, weapons and documents. 


Events and parties

  • Ascension Fair (the Sensia). Every year, since the end of the 14th century, the city is organized Ascension Fair, commonly called, by Vogheresi and not, "the Sensia". 


What to do


Shopping

  • Weekly market, Piazza Duomo. Every Tuesday and Friday the traditional market is held in the central Piazza Duomo. 


How to have fun

  • 1 Cowboyland, via T. Morato 18, ☎ 39 0383 364631, fax: 39 0383 364635. It is an amusement park in a western setting. Cowboyland on Wikipedia Cowboyland (Q3696356) on Wikidata 


Where to eat

Moderate prices

  • Burger King, Via Piacenza 190, ☎ 39 0383 398073. Simple icon time.svgMon-Sun 12: 00-21: 00. The services of this restaurant are: King Drive, parking, Play King, wifi and party organization. 
  • McDonald's, Via Martyrs of Liberty, ☎ 39 0383 242008. Simple icon time.svgMcCafé Restaurant: Mon-Sun 11: 00-22: 00; McDrive: Sun-Thu 11: 00-22: 00, Fri-Sat 11: 00-24: 00. 

Average prices


Where stay

Moderate prices

Average prices

  • 1 Hotel Merli, Course XXVII March, 2, ☎ 39 0383 212180. 
  • 2 Gemok Hotel, Via Ricotti, 5, ☎ 39 0383 61821. 
  • 3 Cowboys' Guest Ranch, Via Tullio Morato 18, ☎ 39 0383 364631. 
  • 4 Zenit Hotel Restaurant, Via Piacenza 8, ☎ 39 0383 43189. 
  • 5 Court Of Roses, Via Covini 6, ☎ 39 0383 45686. 
  • 6 Crown, Corso Fratelli Rosselli 11, ☎ 39 0383 46238. 


Safety

Italian traffic signs - pharmacy icon.svgPharmacies


How to keep in touch

Post office

  • 15 Italian post, Course XXVII March, 79, ☎ 39 0383 43600. 
  • 16 Italian post, Via XX Settembre 34, ☎ 39 0383 338511, fax: 39 0383 47273. 
  • 17 Italian post, Via Furini 49, ☎ 39 0383 43920, fax: 39 0383 368290. 


Around

  • Salice Terme - A large Art Nouveau-style Hotel delle Terme, surrounded by a large planted park, celebrated the success that the spa had in the twenties-thirties-forties of the twentieth century. The Hotel is now closed; the spas, on the other hand, profitably continue the activity, which has been the driving force for the building development of Salice which has equipped itself with hotels, restaurants, swimming pool for the use of curative tourism of which it has become a destination.
  • Rivanazzano Terme - It almost forms a conurbation with the nearby Salice; its spa was born in 1913 with the discovery of the springs in the area of ​​San Francesco. It is recently enhancing its facilities in an attempt to achieve the notoriety of the neighbor.
  • Varzi - Capital of the high Staffora Valley, has a beautiful historic center. It was a focal point in the ancient trade routes. Its recent fame is linked to climate tourism and to Varzi salami which constitutes the excellence of its food production.
  • Volpedo - It preserves a valuable Romanesque church, as well as many memories of the painter Pellizza da Volpedo.
  • Tortona - City of ancient origin, it has always been a crossroads of trade and commerce. Its historic center has the elegance and sobriety of Piedmontese cities with Lombard influences.
  • Alexandria - It is named after Pope Alexander III and was a cornerstone of the struggle against the Empire. Free Municipality, it was for centuries a military stronghold. It has a vast historic center with an unequivocal Savoy imprint.
  • Pass of the Penice - On the border between Emilia is Lombardy, not far from Piedmont is Liguria, was an important point of communication and commerce. It is now mainly known as a place for winter sports but also for summer holidays.

Itineraries


Other projects

  • Collaborate on WikipediaWikipedia contains an entry concerning Voghera
  • Collaborate on CommonsCommons contains images or other files on Voghera
2-4 star.svgUsable : the article respects the characteristics of a draft but in addition it contains enough information to allow a short visit to the city. Use i correctly listing (the right type in the right sections).