Lodi, Lombardy

Lodi
Lòd  (Lombard)
Comune
Comune di Lodi
Piazza della Vittoria

Flag
Coat of arms
Lodi
Location of Lodi in Italy
Coordinates: 45°19′N 9°30′E / 45.317°N 9.500°E / 45.317; 9.500Coordinates: 45°19′N 9°30′E / 45.317°N 9.500°E / 45.317; 9.500
Country Italy
Region Lombardy
Province Lodi (LO)
Frazioni Fontana, Olmo, Riolo, San Grato
Government
 • Mayor Sara Casanova[1] (Lega Nord)
Area
 • Total 41 km2 (16 sq mi)
Elevation 87 m (285 ft)
Population (1 January 2017)[2]
 • Total 45,212
 • Density 1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Lodigiani or Laudensi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 26900
Dialing code 0371
Patron saint St. Bassianus
Saint day 19 January
Website Official website

Lodi (Italian: [ˈlɔːdi] ( listen); Lodigiano: Lòd) is a city and comune in Lombardy, northern Italy, on primarily on the western bank of the River Adda. It is the capital of the province of Lodi.

History

The Battle of Lodi, by Louis-François, Baron Lejeune.

Lodi was a Celtic village; in Roman times it was called, in Latin, Laus Pompeia (probably in honour of the consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo) and was known also because its position allowed many Gauls of Gallia Cisalpina to obtain Roman citizenship. It was in an important position where a vital Roman road crossed the River Adda.

Lodi became the see of a diocese in the 3rd century. Its first bishop, Saint Bassianus (San Bassiano) is the patron saint of the town.

A free commune around 1000, it fiercely resisted the Milanese, who destroyed it in 1111. The old town corresponds to the modern Lodi Vecchio. Frederick Barbarossa rebuilt it on its current location in 1158.

Starting from 1220, the Lodigiani (inhabitants of Lodi) spent some decades in realising an important work of hydraulic engineering: a system of miles and miles of artificial rivers and channels (called Consorzio di Muzza) was created in order to give water to the countryside, turning some arid areas into one of the most important agricultural areas of the region, even up to today.

Starting from the 14th century Lodi was ruled by the Visconti family, who built a castle there. In 1413, the antipope John XXIII launched the bull by which he convened the Council of Constance from the Duomo of Lodi. The council would mark the end of the Great Schism.

In 1454, representatives from all the regional states of Italy met in Lodi to sign the treaty known as the peace of Lodi, by which they intended to work in the direction of Italian unification, but this peace lasted only 40 years.

The town was then ruled by the Sforza family, France, Spain and Austria. In 1786 it became the eponymous capital of a province that between 1815 and 1859 would have included Crema.

On 10 May 1796, in the first major battle of his career as a general, the young Napoleon Bonaparte defeated the Austrians in the Battle of Lodi. In the second half of the 19th century, Lodi began to expand outside the city walls, boosted by economic expansion and the construction of a network of railway lines that followed the unification of Italy.

Main sights

Church of the Beata Vergine Incoronata (view of the interior),

Economy

In 1864 Tiziano Zalli founded the Banca Popolare di Lodi, the first Italian cooperative bank (now part of Banco Popolare group).

In 1945, the Italian petrol company Agip, directed by Enrico Mattei, started extracting methane from its fields, and Lodi was the first Italian town with a regular domestic gas service.

In Lodi there is the headquarters of 'Zucchetti', in Lodi Tower. Zucchetti is a company specialized in Information Technology.

In the city is situated the headquarters of 'Erbolario'.

Twin towns

References

  1. ↑ http://elezioni.interno.it/comunali/scrutini/20170611/G030990310.htm
  2. ↑ Population data from Istat - Italian Institute of Statistics
  3. ↑ - (2004). Piazze d'Italia. Milan: Touring Club Italiano. ISBN 88-365-3498-8.

Sources

  • Agnelli, Giovanni (1917). Lodi ed il suo territorio nella storia, nella geografia e nell'arte. Lodi.
  • Bassi, Agenore (1977). Storia di Lodi. Lodi: Edizioni Lodigraf. ISBN 88-7121-018-2.
  • Mario-Giuseppe Genesi, Gli Organi Storici del Lodigiano, Piacenza, L.I.R. Editrice, 2017, pp. 720.
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