Bobbio

Bobbio is a small town and comune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza. There is also an abbey and a diocese of the same name.
Bobbio is the administrative center of the Unione Montana Valli Trebbia e Luretta. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.

Overview

Bobbio is located in the heart of Val Trebbia, a valley described by Ernest Hemingway as "the most beautiful in the world". The town is nestled at the foot of Monte Penice, above sea level, on the left bank of the river Trebbia.
Its history is identified with the Abbey founded in 614 by St. Columbanus an Irish missionary, and as a result, it became one of the principal centres of religious culture in medieval Italy, home to a library and basilica. The possessions of the abbey in the Lombard and Carolingian eras spanned the north of Italy.
Bobbio is a coveted tourist destination known for its history of art and culture, for nature lovers, and for its ancient monuments. It has from antiquity been a crossroads between different cultures such as the Piacentine, Ligurian, Piedmontese and Pavian.
The historical centre and heart of the city has maintained the characteristics of the medieval village. One town landmark, the Ponte Vecchio, called Ponte Gobbo, also known as the Devil's Bridge, is an ancient stone bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the river Trebbia in eleven irregular arches. The Shrine of Our Lady of Penice, located on top of Monte Penice, dominates the landscape, and is also visited in winter for its ski resorts.
Historians have speculated that Bobbio was the town in which Leonardo da Vinci completed the Mona Lisa.
Carla Glori in December 2011 has published her book Enigma Leonardo:decifrazioni e scoperte where the background of the portrait has been identified as the landscape of Bobbio.

Landscape and outskirts

Bobbio is from Piacenza and from there it can be reached by the state road n. 45, which connects Piacenza to Genova. From Pavia, the route to Bobbio is via road n. 461 and Pass Penice.
From Bobbio, the road to Piacenza is only a few minutes from Barberino Orrido, an overlook of the river Trebbia. Continuing in the same direction you enter the village of Mezzano Scotti, and a few kilometres afterwards, the little village called Perino. It is an ideal starting point for visiting the Perino Valley or the ancient characteristic villages of Aglio and Pradovera.
On the same road but in the direction of Genova and from Bobbio is San Salvatore, a little village with a wonderful view of the river's meanderings. A few kilometres upstream is Marsaglia and Brugnello, with the ancient Church of Brugnello overlooking the river Trebbia.
From Bobbio, taking the state road n. 461 for Pavia after you reach Passo Penice where there is a ski resort on the top of the Monte Penice. This is the location of the ancient Virgin Penice Sanctuary with a view of the region; a few kilometres downhill, near Ceci, is a cross country ski run.
On the other side of the river just from Bobbio is the village of Coli, situated between pinewoods and pasture fields.

Trebbia river and valley

The river Trebbia is the backbone of Bobbio and its surrounding territory. It springs in Liguria on Mount Prelà and flows to reach the river Po. Its waters are fresh, clean and run between stones and rocks outlining a twisting journey through overhangs and waterfalls.
The Trebbia valley is known among international scholars for its geology.
Common activities on the river include hiking, swimming, sunbathing, canoeing, canyoning and fishing. Trout, balbels and chubs can be found in the river.
The territory around Bobbio is characterized by the Apennines, which influence the climate, contributing cool air in summer and protecting the town from cold winds and fog in winter. On the surrounding mountains are find cultivated fields and pastures, and the woods are habitats for a number of critters and where a great variety of trees and flowers grow.

History

Known to the ancients as Bobium or Ebovium, the town underwent many settlements from the Neolithic Age up to the contemporary one. Several archaeological finds testify to the presence of Liguri, Boii, and from the 4th century BC the Romans.
But the history of Bobbio is tied to the existence of the Abbey founded in 614 by the Irish monk Saint Columbanus, who received the district from the Longobard King Agilulf.
Bobbio Abbey increased its possessions and became one of the principal seats of culture and religion of Northern Italy and a centre of learning during the Middle Ages, and was renowned for its Scriptorium and library. In the 10th century, there were 700 codices; but its decline in the 15th century led to the dispersal of the library. The monastery was officially suppressed by the French in 1803.
This monastery was in part the model for the great monastery in Umberto Eco's 1980 novel The Name of the Rose.
In 1014 Bobbio was erected a City and Episcopal See and surrounded by city walls that form the Contea of Bobbio.
The city lay in the region of Liguria but in 1230 Piacenza conquered Bobbio and its dominion lasted until the 14th century when the Contea of Bobbio passed, first, under the rule of the Malaspina, and then under the rule of the Visconti, the dukes of Milan.
In 1387 the city passed to the Dal Verme family and formed the Contea of Bobbio and Voghera; in 1516 the area formed the Marchesate of Bobbio.
The town became part of the domains of the House of Savoy in 1748 after the Wars of Succession and formed the Province of Bobbio.
In 1796 the French arrived in Italy and only four years later Napoleon suppressed the monastery and sold its treasures.
From 1815 to 1859 Bobbio and its province were included in the Department of Genoa, then passed to Pavia and finally in 1923 to Piacenza.
On 7 July 1944, the partisan resistance in Italy conquered the town, formed the Republic of Bobbio and governed it autonomously until it was crushed by the Germans on 27 August, the same year.
The bishopric dates from 1014. On 30 September 1986, the Diocese was suppressed and merged with Archdiocese of Genoa. Since 1989, Bobbio has been united with the Diocese of Piacenza to form the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio.

''Mona Lisa''

Recent historical-artistic studies and confirmed scientific hypotheses have shown that the landscape that is the background to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is taken from Bobbio.
The landscape that forms the background to the picture is that of Bobbio seen from the Malaspina Dal Verme Castle, according to the scientific researcher Carla Glori.
Furthermore, on the basis of these historical-artistic studies, she is identified as Bianca Giovanna Sforza, the girl portrayed in the painting by Leonardo da Vinci.

Main sights

Bobbio Abbey: Former monastery with buildings dating to medieval period, now from open to the public is long ground floor corridor, the main cloister; the service yard; the Abbey Museum, recently restored and enlarged, collects remarkable works and art objects of Roman, medieval and Renaissance ages, and Civic Museum is a sort of didactic journey, whose admittance is from the southern wing of the cloister, the only one that guards the original portico.
Saint Columbanus Basilica: church built 1456-1522 atop base of a 10th century proto-Romanesque church. Nave frescos were painted by Bernardino Lanzani; the wooden choir carved in Gothic style. The crypt is paved with 12th-century floor mosaic; the marble sarcophagus of Saint Columbanus made by Giovanni de Patriarchi; two marble pluteos used as tombstones of Saint Attala and Saint Bertulf; and a 12th-century wrought iron gate.
Ponte Vecchio : the long bridge, also known as Ponte Gobbo or del Diavolo, spans the Trebbia river by means of eleven unequal arches. A likely Ancient Roman bridge existed here prior to 1196. One legend about the bridge tells that it was built by the Devil in one night after he made a pact with St Columbanus who promised him the soul of the first passerby; but when the bridge was finished the Irish Saint sent a dog across. In another legend, a man tricks Satan into rebuilding it overnight after it has been destroyed by a flood. In reality, the bridge was reconstructed after flood damage in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Malaspina-Dal Verme Castle: Begun by Corradino Malaspina in 1304 on the hill overlooking the town, it remained for the duration of his rule a Ghibelline stronghold. Today it is a square-plan keep, two minor service towers and defensive walls. By the castle affords a good view over the town and the surrounding countryside. In 1800, under the name of Castello Bobbium, the property and marquessate were purchased by the Piccinini family of Emilia-Romagna, who possessed them until 1956 when the castle and land were ceded by the Piccinini to the Italian State.
The Castellaro:old historic quarter under the castle and the park.
Bobbio Cathedral: Built in 1075, is the main religious edifice of the city. It has two majestic towers, which are original in the lower parts. The façade is from 1463, with three portals in Gothic style. The cathedral presents modern decoration in the three naves and an 18th-century decoration in the presbytery and on the transept dome. Through the right transept, you can reach Saint John chapel where there is a splendid fresco of the second half of the 15th century representing the Annunciation. The crypt houses the tombs of the bishops of Bobbio, and the chapel of Saint Antonio Maria Gianelli, bishop of Bobbio.

On the right side is the Palazzo Vescovile, partially renewed in 1448; there is also the garden of the cathedral. On the left side is the Bobbio historical archives: sited into the premises of the Old Seminary, founded in the mid-12th century, they keep precious parchments and fragments of ancient codes dated from the 9th century to the 15th century. Available on microfilm the reproduction of all documents referred to Bobbio.

San Francesco: church and convent built in 13th-century Franciscan style. The monastery maintained the original shape while the church was rebuilt at the beginning of the 18th century in baroque style. Worth of mention is the inner cloister with squat pillars that sustain four cross vault covered spans on each side and over which runs a wooden loggia with precious medieval capitals columns.
Saint Lawrence church: built probably in the 12th century it was enlarged during the 17th century. Still visible on the left side are parts of the ancient building while on the right outer wall are two tablets also from the previous church.
The Virgin Mary's Help Sanctuary: it encloses the remains of the 15th-century church decorated with a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. In 1611 it was said to have dripped sweat from the forehead. It was given the present baroque classical style in 1641.

Two museums are located within the abbey complex, one devoted to the abbey and one to the town. Among the exhibits is a much-admired carved ivory "bucket" of the 4th century AD.

The Abbey Museum: It collects remarkable works and art objects of Roman, medieval and Renaissance Age. Of the Roman period: the Cocceia family sarcophagus, four cinerary urns, a pagan altar dedicated to Diana and an alabaster Hydra dating back to the 3rd century. Other noteworthy pieces are the longobard stones, the 8th-century tombstone of Cumianus, tin votive ampullae, the Orpheus ivory shrine and the wrought silver Saint Columbanus bust. In the picture gallery a polyptyc by Luini representing the Assumption.
The Town Museum: sited in the ancient refectory and service room, is a didactic journey through the history of Bobbio and can be a sort of introduction to all the other historical places of the town. The first section is dedicated to the life and works of the Irish Saint, while the second section looks at the monastic complex from an architectonic point of view, on a computer which runs a program for a virtual visit of the building, but it is also about the Scriptorium that made Bobbio the greatest cultural centre of northern Italy. The dressing made of light and transparent supports completed by multimedial means is perfectly integrated with the monumental space of the monastery and its educational aim.
The monastery of Santa Chiara and Palazzo Comunale.
The ex Church of Our Lady of Grace: ex-hospital pharmacy monastic abbey of the 9th century, now cinema since 1910 and hostel.
The ex Convent and Saint Nicolas' Church.
The ancient Palaces Bobbiensis: Palace of Porta Nova with arcades, Castelli Palace, Brugnatelli Palace, Palace of pharmacy, Malaspina, Tamburelli Palace and municipal hostel, Olmi , Alcarini , Calvi Palace, Donati Palace with the alley of the Strict, Buelli Palace, etc.
Porta Fringuella Square: with the arcades of the 12th century.
Ancient district of St. Joseph.
The district said Borgo with ancient walls and the Mill Ocelli.
The old mills: Mill of the City, Mill district of St. Joseph, Bishop's Mill.
The Therm of Bobbio.