Ancient Celtic origin Cremona is first mentioned in history as a settlement of the
Cenomani, a
Gallic (
Celtic) tribe that arrived in the
Po valley around 400 BC. However, the name Cremona most likely dates back to earlier settlers and puzzled the ancients, who gave many fanciful interpretations.
Roman military outpost In 218 BC, the
Romans established on that spot their first military outpost (a ) north of the Po river, and kept the old name. Cremona and nearby Placentia (modern
Piacenza, on the south bank of the Po) were founded in the same year, as bases for penetration into what became the Roman
Province of
Gallia Cisalpina (
Cisalpine Gaul). Due to the trade importance of the town, from it started the
Via Brixiana a
Roman road which connected
Brixia (
Brescia) to Cremona. Cremona quickly grew into one of the largest towns in northern Italy, as it was on the main road connecting
Genoa to
Aquileia, the
Via Postumia. It supplied troops to
Julius Caesar and benefited from his rule, but later supported
Marcus Junius Brutus and the
Senate in their conflict with
Augustus, who, having won, in 40 BC confiscated Cremona's land and redistributed it to his men. The famous poet
Virgil, who went to school in Cremona, had to forfeit his ancestral farm ("too close to wretched Cremona"), but later regained it.
Destruction The city's prosperity continued to increase until 69 AD, when it was sacked and destroyed in the
Second Battle of Bedriacum by the troops of
Vespasian under command of
Marcus Antonius Primus, fighting to install him as Emperor against his rival
Vitellius. The sacking was described by
Tacitus in his
Histories. Cremona was rebuilt with the help of the new emperor Vespasian, but it seems to have failed to regain its former prosperity as it disappeared from history.
Re-emergence In the 6th century, it resurfaced as a military outpost of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire during the
Gothic War.
Early Middle Ages When the
Lombards invaded much of Italy in the second half of the 6th century AD, Cremona remained a
Byzantine stronghold as part of the
Exarchate of Ravenna. The city expanded towards the north-west, with the creation of a great trenched camp outside the walls.
Lombard Possession In 603 AD, Cremona was conquered by the Lombard King
Agilulf and again destroyed. Its territory was divided between the two duchies of
Brescia and
Bergamo. However, in 615 AD, Queen
Theodelinda, a devout Roman Catholic intent on converting her people, had Cremona rebuilt and re-installed a bishop there.
Holy Roman Vassal Control of the city fell increasingly to its bishop, who became a
Holy Roman Empire vassal after
Charlemagne's conquest of Italy. In this way, Cremona increased its power and its prosperity steadily and some of its bishops had important roles between the 10th and 11th centuries. Bishop
Liutprand of Cremona was a member of the Imperial court under the
Saxony dynasty and
Olderic gained strong privileges for his city from emperor
Otto III. Its economy was boosted by the creation of a river port out of the former Byzantine fortress. However, the two bishops Lambert and Ubaldo created discord with the city's people. Emperor
Conrad II settled the quarrel by entering Cremona in 1037 together with the young
Pope Benedict IX.
Medieval Commune Under
Henry IV, Cremona refused to pay the oppressive taxes requested by the Empire and the bishop. According to a legend, the great
gonfaloniere (mayor) Giovanni Baldesio of Cremona faced the emperor himself in a duel. As Henry was knocked from his horse, the city was saved the annual payment of the golden ball, which, for that year, was instead given to Berta, Giovanni's girlfriend, as her dowry.
Anti-Empire The first historical news about a free Cremona is from 1093, as it entered into an anti-Empire alliance led by
Mathilde of Canossa, together with
Lodi,
Milan and
Piacenza. The conflict ended with Cremona gaining the
Insula Fulcheria, the area around the nearby city of
Crema, as its territory. After that time, the new commune warred against nearby cities to enlarge its territory. In 1107 Cremona conquered
Tortona, but four years later its army was defeated near Bressanoro. As in many northern Italian cities, the people were divided into two opposing parties, the
Guelphs, who were stronger in the
new city, and the
Ghibellines, who had their base in the
old city. The parties were so irreconcilable that the former built a second Communal Palace, the still existing Palazzo Cittanova ("new city's palace").
Pro-Empire When
Frederick Barbarossa descended into Italy to assert his authority, Cremona sided with him in order to gain his support against Crema, which had rebelled with the help of
Milan. The subsequent victory and its loyal imperial stance earned Cremona the right to create a mint for its own coinage in 1154. In 1162, Imperial and Cremonese forces assaulted Milan and destroyed it.
Lombard League during the
battle of Legnano (1176) by
Amos Cassioli (1832–1891) However, in 1167 the city changed sides and joined the
Lombard League. Its troops were part of the army that, on 29 May 1176, defeated Barbarossa in the
Battle of Legnano. However, the Lombard League did not survive this victory for long. In 1213, at
Castelleone, the Cremonese defeated the League of
Milan,
Lodi,
Crema,
Novara,
Como and
Brescia. In 1232, Cremona allied itself with Emperor
Frederick II, who was again trying to reassert the Empire's authority over Northern Italy. In the
Battle of Cortenuova, the Cremonese were on the winning side. Thereafter Frederick often held his court in the city. In the
Battle of Parma, however, the
Ghibellines suffered a heavy defeat and up to two thousand Cremonese were made prisoners. Some years later, Cremona took its vengeance by defeating Parma's army. Its army, under the command of Umberto Pallavicino, captured Parma's
carroccio and for centuries kept the enemy's trousers hanging from the
Cathedral's ceiling as a sign of the rival's humiliation. In 1301 the
troubadour Luchetto Gattilusio was of Cremona. During this period Cremona flourished and reached a population of up to 80,000, larger than the 69,000 of 2001.
Seignory Lords In 1266, Pallavicino was expelled from Cremona, and the Ghibelline rule ended after his successor Buoso da Dovara relinquished control to a consortium of citizens. In 1271 the position of
Capitano del Popolo ("People's Chieftain") was created. In 1276 the
Signoria passed to marquis Cavalcabò Cavalcabò; in 1305 he was succeeded by his son Guglielmo Cavalcabò, who held power until 1310. During this period many edifices were created or restored including the belfry of the
Torrazzo, the
Romanesque church of San Francis, the cathedral's transepts and the Loggia dei Militi. Moreover, agriculture was boosted with a new network of canals. After some foreign invasions (notably that of Emperor
Henry VII in 1311), the Cavalcabò lasted until 29 November 1322, when a more powerful family, the
Visconti of
Galeazzo I, came to prominence that in Cremona was to last for a century and a half. The Visconti's signoria (lordship) was interrupted in 1327 by
Ludwig the Bavarian, in 1331 by
John of Bohemia, and in 1403 by a short-lived return of the Cavalcabò. On 25 July 1406, captain Cabrino Fondulo killed his employer Ubaldo Cavalcabò along with all the male members of his family, and assumed control over Cremona. However, he was unable to face the task, and ceded the city back to the Visconti for a payment of 40,000 golden florins. Thus
Filippo Maria Visconti made his signoria hereditary. Cremona became part of the
Duchy of Milan, following its fate until the
unification of Italy. Under the Visconti and later the
Sforza, Cremona underwent high cultural and religious development. In 1411 Palazzo Cittanova become the seat of the university of
fustian merchants. In 1441 the city hosted the marriage of
Francesco I Sforza and
Bianca Maria Visconti in the temple built by the
Benedictines, which today is the church of Saint Sigismund. Local legend credits the festivities for the occasion of the creation of the city's famous
nougat (), although this is apparently a 20th-century fabrication.
Ludovico il Moro assisted in the financing of several building projects for the cathedral, the church of St. Agatha and the Communal Palace. In 1446, Cremona was encircled by the
condottieri troops of
Francesco Piccinino and
Luigi dal Verme. The siege was raised after the arrival of
Scaramuccia da Forlì from
Venice.
Foreign occupations From 1499 to 1509 Cremona was under Venetian control.
Republic of Venice The victory of the Italian League at
Agnadello gave it back to the Duchy of Milan.
Spain However, Cremona was assigned to
Spain under the
Treaty of Noyon (1513). Cremona fell to the new rulers only in 1524 when the Castle of Santa Croce surrendered. The French were finally expelled from the duchy two years later, with the
Treaty of Madrid, and subsequently Cremona remained a Spanish dominion for many years. During that time several building improvements or additions were made, including the Loggia of the cathedral's Porch by
Lorenzo Trotti (1550) and the new church of San Siro and Sepolcro by Antonio Gialdini (1614). During Spanish rule, Cremona saw the famine of 1628 and the
plague of 1630.
Austria The duchy, after a short-lived French conquest in 1701 during the
War of the Spanish Succession, passed to Austria on 10 April 1707.
For later history, see Lombardy ==Government==