CORTEMAGGIORE

'Cortemaggiore' is an Italian comune located in the Province of Piacenza.
Founded in the 1479 by the Pallavicino family, over an old roman site, it was the capital of the ancient ''Pallavicino's State''.
During the years, the birth of a lot of brotherhoods, bears the construction of a lot of churches:

★ The church of ''"Santa Maria delle Grazie"'' or ''"Collegiata"'': Started in 1480, is the main church of Cortemaggiore; it conserves a valued polyptych, composed by twelve pieces, of Filippo Mazzola, Parmigianino's father.

★ The church of ''"Annunziata"'': Builted in 1487, it keeps two importants pictures by Il Pordenone, an ''"Immacolata concezione"'' (Blameless Conception) an a superb ''"Deposizione"'' (the Deposition). Next to the church, there is a monastery , with a cloister of 40 metres (about 43 yards) on all sides.

★ The church of ''"San Giuseppe"'' (St. Joseph): Starded in 1576 by the brotherhood of San Giuseppe.

★ The oratory of ''"San Lorenzo"'' (St. Lawrence): Builted in 1666.

★ The oratory of ''"San Giovanni"'' (St. John): Started in 1625 by the confratenity of ''SS. Sacramento''.

★ The curch of ''"Santa Maria delle Grazie fuori le mura"'' o ''"Madonnina"'': Builted by the priest Anotonio Bovarini in 1661.
In 1949 the italian entrepreneur Enrico Mattei, discovers in Cortemaggiore's subsoil an important oilfield; with this oil was product a gasoline (the only one refined from italian petroleum), called Supercortemaggiore.
In 1997 to Cortemaggiore was confered the title of '''"Città d'Arte"''' (Art City).

Contents

Territory

Born in Cortemaggiore

Territory

Cortemaggiore is located in the northern Italy about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Milan, in the zone of Italy called "Pianura Padana".
The municipality borders with Fiorenzuola d'Arda, Villanova sull'Arda, Besenzone, San Pietro in Cerro, Caorso, Pontenure and Cadeo.

Born in Cortemaggiore

★ Lorenzo Respighi (1824—1889), mathematician, philosopher