Ancient history Pre-Roman era Before its settlement by the Romans, the area was populated by other peoples; specifically, just prior to the Roman settlement, the region on the right bank of the Po River between the
Trebbia River and the
Taro River had been occupied by the Ananes or Anamari, a tribe of
Cisalpine Gauls. Before then, according to
Polybius, "These plains were anciently inhabited by
Etruscans" before the Gauls took the entire
Po Valley from them.
Roman age in May 218 BC, Piacenza and
Cremona were founded as Roman
military colonies. The Romans had planned to construct them after the successful conclusion of the latest war with the Gauls ending in 219 BC. In the spring of 218 BC, after declaring war on
Carthage, the Senate decided to accelerate the foundation and gave the colonists 30 days to appear on the sites to receive their lands. Each colony was to be settled by 6,000 Roman citizens, but the cities were to receive
Latin Rights; that is, they were to have the same legal status as the many colonies that had been co-founded by Rome and towns of
Latium. The reaction of the region's Gauls was swift; they drove the colonists off the lands. Taking refuge in
Mutina, the colonists sent for military assistance. A small force under Lucius Manlius was prevented from reaching the area. The Senate then sent two legions under Gaius Atelius. Collecting Manlius and the colonists, they descended on Piacenza and Cremona and successfully placed
castra there of to support the building of the city. Piacenza must have been walled immediately, as the walls were in place when the
Battle of the Trebia was fought around the city in December. There is no evidence either textual or archaeological of a prior settlement at that exact location; however, such a site would have been obliterated by construction. Piacenza was the fifty-third colony to be placed by Rome following its foundation. It was the first among the Gauls of the Po valley. It had to be supplied by boat after the Battle of Trebbia, when Hannibal controlled the countryside, for which purpose a port (Emporium) was constructed. In 209 BC,
Hasdrubal Barca crossed the Alps and laid siege to the city, but he was unable to take it, and he withdrew. In 200 BC, the Gauls sacked and burned the city, selling the inhabitants into slavery. Subsequently, the victorious Romans restored the city and managed to recover 2,000 of its citizens. In 198 BC, a combined force of Gauls and Ligurians plundered the whole region. As the people had never recovered from being sold into slavery, in 190 BC, they complained to Senate of underpopulation; in response the Senate sent 3,000 new settlers. Construction of the
Via Aemilia in the decade of the 180s made the city easily accessible from the Adriatic ports, which improved trade and the prospects for timely defense. The
Liver of Piacenza, a bronze model of a sheep's liver for the purposes of
haruspicy, was discovered in 1877 at
Gossolengo just to the south of Piacenza. It bears witness to the survival of the
disciplina Etrusca well after the Roman conquest. Although sacked and devastated several times, the city always recovered and by the sixth century
Procopius was calling it "the principal city in the country of Aemilia". The first Bishop of Piacenza (322–357), San Vittorio, declared
Saint Antoninus of Piacenza, a soldier of the
Theban Legion (and not to be confused with the sixth-century
Antoninus of Piacenza), the patron saint of Piacenza and had the first basilica constructed to honor the saint in 324. The basilica was restored in 903 and rebuilt in 1101, again in 1562, and is still a church today. The remains of the bishop and the
soldier-saint are in urns under the altar. The theme of Antoninus, protector of Piacenza, is well known in art.
Middle Ages Piacenza was sacked during the course of the
Gothic War (535–554). After a short period of being reconquered by the
Roman emperor Justinian I, it was conquered by the
Lombards, who made it a duchy seat. After its conquest by
Francia in the ninth century, the city began to recover, aided by its location along the
Via Francigena that later connected the
Holy Roman Empire with
Rome. Its population and importance grew further after the year 1000. That period marked a gradual transfer of governing powers from the feudal lords to a new enterprising class, as well to the feudal class of the countryside. In 1095, the city was the site of the
Council of Piacenza, in which the
First Crusade was proclaimed. From 1126, Piacenza was a free
commune and an important member of the
Lombard League. In this role, it took part in the war against
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor and in the subsequent
battle of Legnano (1176). It also successfully fought the neighbouring communes of
Cremona,
Pavia, and
Parma, expanding its territory. Piacenza also captured control of the trading routes with
Genoa, where the first Piacentini bankers had already settled, from the Malaspina counts and the
bishop of Bobbio. In the thirteenth century, despite unsuccessful wars against Frederick I, Piacenza managed to gain strongholds on the
Lombardy shore of the Po. The preliminaries of the
Peace of Constance were signed in 1183 in the Saint Antoninus church. Agriculture and trade flourished in these centuries and Piacenza became one of the richest cities in Europe. This is reflected in the construction of many important buildings and in the general revision of the urban plan. Struggles for control were commonplace in the second half of the thirteenth century, similarly to the large majority of Medieval Italian communes. The
Scotti family,
Pallavicini family and (1290–1313) in that order, held power during the period. Scoto's government ended when the
Visconti of Milan captured Piacenza, which they would hold until 1447. Duke
Gian Galeazzo Visconti rewrote Piacenza's statutes and relocated the
University of Pavia to the city. Piacenza then became a possession of the
House of Sforza until 1499.
Modern era (obv) and
Placentia floret ("Piacenza flourishes") (rev) Chiefly due to the expansion of
agriculture in the countryside surrounding Piacenza, the city progressed economically and a coin from the seventeenth century (that is displayed to the right) declares that by featuring the motto:
Placentia floret ("Piacenza flourishes") on one of its sides. Also in the course of that century a new city wall was erected. Piacenza, as part of the
Duchy of Milan, was ruled, at alternate times, by the Sforza and by
France until 1521, when, under
Pope Leo X, it became part of the
Papal States. From 1545, following the creation of the
Duchy of Parma and Piacenza by
Pope Paul III to his son
Pier Luigi Farnese, the city was ruled by the
House of Farnese. Piacenza was the capital city of the duchy until
Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma (1547–1586), moved the capital to Parma. The city underwent some of its most difficult years during the rule of
Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma (1622–1646). Out of the population of 30,000 in the city between 6,000 and 13,000 Piacentini died from famine and plague. The city and its countryside were ravaged by bandits and French soldiers as well. Between 1732 and 1859, Parma and Piacenza were ruled by the
House of Bourbon. In the eighteenth century, several edifices that belonged to noble families such as Scotti,
Landi, and Fogliani were built in Piacenza. In 1802,
Napoleon's army annexed Piacenza to the French Empire. Young Piacentini recruits were sent to fight in
Russia,
Spain, and
Germany, while the city was plundered of a great number of artworks that are currently exhibited in many French museums. The
Habsburg government of
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (1816–1847), is remembered fondly as one of the best in the history of Piacenza. The duchess drained many lands, built several bridges across the Trebbia and the
Nure and created educational and artistic activities.
Union with Italy in a 19th-century image
Austrian troops occupied Piacenza until, in 1860, a plebiscite marked the entrance of the city into the
Kingdom of Sardinia. When 37,089 voters out of 37,585 voted for the annexation, Piacenza was declared ''Primogenita dell'Unità di Italia'' ("First-born of the
Unification of Italy") by the monarch. The Piacentini enrolled en masse in
Giuseppe Garibaldi's army for the
Expedition of the Thousand. In 1858, the geologist Karl Mayer-Eymar named the
Piacenzian Age of the
Pliocene Epoch based on deposits close to Piacenza. In June 1865, the first railway bridge over the Po River in northern Italy was inaugurated (in southern Italy a railroad bridge had been built across the river in 1839). In 1891, the first Chamber of Workers was created in Piacenza.
World War II During
World War II, the city was heavily bombed by the
Allies because of its strategic elements. The important railway and road bridges across the Trebbia and the Po and the railway yards were destroyed. The historic centre of city suffered collateral damage. In 1944, the bridges over the Po became vital for the supply from Austria of Field Marshal
Albert Kesselring's
Gothic Line, which protected the withdrawal of Kesselring's troops from Italy. Foremost among these were the railway and road bridges at Piacenza, along with supply depots and railway yards. In Operation Mallory Major, July 12–15, allied medium bombers from
Corsica flew 300 sorties a day, knocking out 21 bridges east of Piacenza and then continued to the west for a total of 90 by July 20. Fighter-bombers prevented reconstruction and cut roads and rail lines. By August 4, all the cities of northern Italy were isolated and had suffered heavy bombing, especially Piacenza. Transport to Genoa to the south or through Turin to the north was impossible; nevertheless, Kesselring continued to supply his men. On the hills and the Apennine Mountains,
partisans were active. On April 25, 1945, a general partisan insurrection by the
Italian resistance movement broke out and on 29 April, troops of the
Brazilian Expeditionary Force entered the city. In 1996, president
Oscar Luigi Scalfaro honoured Piacenza with the gold medal for Valour in Battle. There was a
prisoner of war (POW) camp located in Piacenza, Veano Camp PG 29. == Geography ==