There is evidence of a settlement dating back to Roman penetration of
Gaul, where it is thought to have been used as a
castrum. The Latin form of the name Codogna was "Cothoneum" and is believed to derive from the name of the consul Aurelius Cotta, conqueror of the Gauls, who inhabited these lands at that time. However, it is not until 997 C.E. that the name of the town is found in print. It is mentioned in a charter of Emperor
Otto II. It has also been suggested that the name may be derived from the
cydonia apple, or the
melo cotogno, a variety of
quince, both common in this region. In 1441, after long jurisdiction by the
bishops of Lodi, the settlement was sold to the
Venetian family Fagnani by
Filippo Maria Visconti, the
Duke of Milan and subsequently, in 1450, to
Gian Giacomo Trivulzio under whom it was granted the status of
borgo (
"burg", a fortified town) by
Francesco I Sforza. During this time, Codogno had developed a thriving commercial life, and having a fiercely autonomous spirit, they wished to be independent of
Trivulzio. The Codognesi sought inclusion in the jurisdiction of
Piacenza to have a wider and freer market. Thus, by an act ratified on April 21, 1492, they became citizens of Piacenza. To demonstrate their gratitude, they altered their
coat-of-arms to show the Roman she-wolf (the symbol of Piacenza), tied to a quince tree (the symbol of Codogno) with a gold chain. Codogno became the early centre of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Italy when a 38-year-old Italian went to a local clinic reporting respiratory issues on 16 February 2020 and became the first Italian with no travel links to China to test positive for the virus. From Codogno, the virus spread quickly throughout Italy and the city was later quarantined on 22 February. The outbreak in Italy was a key event in the global spread of COVID-19, which was officially recognised as a pandemic by the
World Health Organization on 11 March 2020. ==Sports==