Bobbio

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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 were also an abbey and a diocese of the same name. Bobbio is the administrative center of the Comunità Montana Appennino Piacentino.

Known to the ancients as Bobium or Ebovium, the Irish Saint Columbanus (It. Colombano) established a monastery sometime between 612 and 614. Bobbio Abbey (see main article) became a center of learning during the Middle Ages, and was renowned for its scriptorium and library, 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 is in part the model for the great monastery in Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose. The bishopric dates from 1014. On september 30 1986, the Diocese was suppressed and merged with Archdiocese of Genoa. Since 1989, Bobbio was united with Diocese of Piacenza to form the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio.

The town became part of Savoy in 1748. On July 7, 1944, the partisan resistance in Italy conquered the town and self-governed it until it was crushed by the Germans on August 27, the same year.

Main sights

The 280 metre long Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge"), which spans the Trebbia by means of eleven unequal arches, is known to have existed before 1196 and may be of Roman origin. From its curious shape it is commonly called the ‘Hunchback Bridge’; also the ‘Devil’s Bridge’ after a legend in which Saint Columbanus tricks Satan into rebuilding it over-night after it has been destroyed by a flood. In reality the bridge did need to be reconstructed after flood damage in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The Malaspina Castle, begun by Corradino Malaspina in 1304, affords a good view over the town and the surrounding countryside. In 1800, under the name of Castello Bobbium, the property and mark was purchased and owned by the Piccinini family of Emilia-Romagna until 1956 when the castle and land was ceded by the Piccinini to the Italian State.

The Co-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 (date in which also a portico was demolished), with three portals in Gothic style. The crypt houses the sepulchres of the bishops of Bobbio. On the right side is the Palazzo Vescovile ("Bishop's Palace", 11th century), partially renewed in 1448.

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 fourth century AD.

Twin cities

• - Ybbs an der Donau, Austria
• - Navan, Ireland

See also

Manuscripts written in Bobbio:

• Bobbio Jerome
• Bobbio Orosius

External links

• Bobbio homepage (in Italian)
• A brief History (in Italian) from the site of the Comunità Montana Appennino Piacentino
• Catholic Encyclopedia article on Bobbio

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Last updated on Saturday January 12, 2008 at 01:58:34 PST (GMT -0800)
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