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Piacenza
Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Piacenza
Piacenzapyächān'tsä, city (1991 pop. 102,268), capital of Piacenza prov., in Emilia-Romagna, on the Po River. It is an agricultural, commercial, and industrial center. Manufactures include agricultural machinery, chemicals, furniture, buttons, and food products. The city was a Roman stronghold (called Colonia Placentia) against the Gauls and was later occupied by the Goths, the Lombards, and the Franks. A free commune by the 12th cent., Piacenza joined the Lombard League. In 1545 it formed, with Parma and its territory, the duchy of Parma and Piacenza, ruled, until 1731, by the Farnese family. Noteworthy buildings include the Lombard-Gothic Palazzo del Comune (1281); the cathedral (1122–1233), with frescoes by Guercino; and the churches of San Savino (12th cent.) and Madonna di Campagna (16th cent.).
Wikipedia search results for: Piacenza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza. Modern forms of the name descend from Latin Placentia. Latin Pl- becomes Italian Pi-; Latin -tia becomes Italian -za; however, the dialect form represents a slightly different regional development. The etymology is long-standing, tracing an origin from the Latin verb, placēre, "to please." It is thus a "pleasant abode" or as James Boswell reported some of the etymologists of his time to have translated, "comely." This was a name "of good omen." Strategically the city is at a major crossroads at the intersection of...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Piacenza
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  • Trebbia

    Trebbia, river, c.70 mi (110 km) long, rising in the Ligurian Apennines, N Italy, and flowing generally NE past Bobbio to join the Po River near Piacenza. Near that city in 218 B.C. Hannibal w...

  • Gregory X

    Gregory X, d. 1276, pope (1271–76), an Italian named Tebaldo Visconti, b. Piacenza; successor of Clement IV. After Clement IV's death the cardinals took 34 months to elect a pope. Gregory was ...

  • Marie Louise

    Marie Louise, 1791–1847, empress of the French (1810–15) as consort of Napoleon I and duchess of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla (1816–47), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (later Empe...

  • Po, river, Italy

    Po, Latin Padus, longest river of Italy, c.405 mi (650 km) long, rising in the Cottian Alps of Piedmont, NW Italy. It winds generally east in a wide valley, past Turin, Pavia, Piacenza, Cremon...

  • Farnese

    Farnese, Italian noble family that ruled Parma and Piacenza from 1545 to 1731. In the 12th cent. the Farnese held several fiefs in Latium. They became one of the most prominent families in Rom...

  • Charles III, king of Spain, and of Naples and Sicily

    Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the d...

  • Farnese, Alessandro

    Farnese, Alessandro, 1545–92, duke of Parma and Piacenza (1586–92), general and diplomat in the service of Philip II of Spain. He was the son of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Margaret of Parma and ...

  • Orestes, Roman general

    Orestes, d. 476, Roman general. With the help of barbarians he deposed (475) the Roman emperor of the West, Julius Nepos, and raised his own son, Romulus Augustulus, to the throne. The next ye...

  • Emilia-Romagna

    Emilia-Romagna, region (1991 pop. 3,909,512), 8,542 sq mi (22,124 sq km), N central Italy, bordering on the Adriatic Sea in the east. Bologna is the capital of the region, which is divided int...

  • Pressburg, Treaty of

    Pressburg, Treaty of, 1805, peace treaty between Napoleon I of France and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (also emperor of Austria), signed at Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia). Defeated at A...

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