Fiorenzuola d´Arda
Of Roman origins, it was an important mercantile center, which is completely evident from the shape of its historic center. Historians´ opinions regarding the origins of the name are divided; in fact, at first it was thought to derive from Florentia, a military station 15 miles from Piacenza which then became Florentiola between the 5th and 8th centuries; then you think of Fidentiola, vicus of Fidenza. However, the ecclesiastical tradition is different and attributes the name of the city to the passage of St. Florence of Tours, bishop of Orange, who healed the lord´s daughter there and then became protector of the city.
The most reliable information on the history of the city dates back to the end of the year 1000, when a long and bloody battle broke out within the town between the emperor Berengar of Friuli and Rudolf II, king of Burgundy. For many years Fiorenzuola followed the fate of the Piacenza countryside, often finding itself involved in the fights between Piacenza, Parma and Cremona for the control of access to the Po. In the year 1441, Duke Filippo Maria Visconti attributed the fiefdom of Fiorenzuola to his ally Orlando Pallavicino whose family remained in power for almost the entire 16th century.
Under the Pallavicino State Government, Fiorenzuola became the center of a thriving Jewish community which not surprisingly facilitated its economic and cultural growth. Precisely from this era are the Palazzo Maculani which bears the name of the famous cardinal, an illustrious mathematician and architect expert in military fortifications; appointed by Pope Urban VIII, General Commissioner of the Holy Office and became part of the Council of the Inquisition during Galileo´s trial.
The latter then became part of the Farnese State until 1731, the year in which it came under the dominion of the Bourbons, successors of the Farnese. In 1802 the first consul Napoleon announced that the task of sovereignty passed by right to the French Republic.
During the Restoration, Fiorenzuola was governed in a balanced way by Maria Luigia of Austria and the current bridge over the Adda was inaugurated by her in 1836. On 18 March 1860 the province of Piacenza was declared part of the Kingdom of Italy and only in 1865 took the name of Fiorenzuola d´Arda. A monument of a certain charm is the Collegiate Church of S. Fiorenzo, founded in 1300 but rebuilt at the end of 1400 and built on the area of the ancient church of S. Bonifacio.
Located in Piazza F.lli Molinari, it has a tripartite façade crowned by pinnacles with a large Renaissance terracotta portal. On the left of the building stands the imposing Civic Tower in Gothic style, as well as the interior of the building with 3 naves divided by large cylindrical pillars that support pointed arches and ribbed vaults. The Crucifixion and The Story of S. Fiorenzo are important 16th century frescoes painted by Lombard painters active at the end of that century. The main altar created in Rome based on a design by Gian Paolo Panini and made up of precious yellow and black marbles is a splendid work of art. The church of the Blessed Virgin of Caravaggio, built in the 17th-18th centuries, stands in via Melchiorre Gioia and has a high portal flanked by columns and crowned by a tympanum and archivolt with a lowered center surmounted by two baroque windows. Inside the Temple there are two large oil canvases and a painting depicting the apparition of the Madonna to the young Giannetta in a meadow near Caravaggio (Bergamo). Other monuments are the Oratory of the Beata Vergine, the Verdi Theater and the church of S. Francesco.
Palazzo Grossi (15th century) adorned with a Renaissance terracotta frieze and two ogival windows and Palazzo Beltramini with a vast cycle of frescoes created by Bartolomeo Rusca and Francesco Natali between 1723 and 1725 are other important buildings in Fiorenzuola.
