Albonese
Discovering Albonese
Hello everyone! Today I will take you on a journey of discovery to a beautiful town in Lombardy: Albonese. Albonese, called "Albunes" in Lomellina dialect, is a small town with only 535 inhabitants located in the province of Pavia. It is in northern Lomellina, on the Arbogna stream, a tributary of the Agogna, at the border with the province of Novara.
History of Albonese
Let's start by talking about history: the name Albonese probably derives from the Arbogna stream, on which the town is located. Throughout the centuries, Albonese has been part of the Lomello committee and had its own lords, possibly derived from the Palatine counts of Lomello. The Albonese were always remembered as Counts, which indicates that they descended from some ancient comital family. In 1164, Albonese was mentioned in the diploma with which Frederick Barbarossa officially assigned dominion over the lands of the ancient county to Pavia, which for some time had already subjected it. The Albonese counts continued to exercise local lordship over the town under Pavia and this feudal possession was never interrupted until the end of feudalism, in 1797. The ancient family soon split into multiple branches and among them there were several disputes; other disputes the Albonese had with the Commune, which owned all or part of the feudal revenues, which elsewhere were almost always in the hands of the feudal lords. However, Albonese remains a rare case of very long and peaceful feudal dominion of a place by a single family.
Symbols of Albonese
Now let's move on to the symbols of Albonese: the coat of arms and the gonfalon (banner) of the municipality of Albonese were granted by decree of the President of the Republic on June 24, 2003. The current municipal coat of arms comes from that of the counts of Lomello which was "per bend of azure and gules". Before 2003, the Municipality used a coat of arms with a rising sun, accompanied by the letters A and E, and an un-leopardil lion crossing a band and holding a sword. The gonfalon is a split drapery of red and blue.
Monuments and Places of Interest
In Albonese, despite being a very small town, there are several monuments and places of interest. One of the most important is undoubtedly the castle, dating back to the feudal period and located in the center of the town.
Albonese Society
Now let's talk about Albonese society: the population has increased over the centuries, from 671 inhabitants in 1707, to 995 in 1859. Today, the population is only 535 inhabitants.
Administration of Albonese
With regard to administration, there is not much data available on past rulers, but we know that Albonese, like all of Lomellina, was annexed to the States of the House of Savoy in 1713 and in 1859 became part of the province of Pavia.
Sports
Finally, we cannot fail to mention sports: the Albonese Mapei Cycling Society was founded in the 1996 season. Today, it is a very active reality in the town, and many Italian and blue champions of the track cycling national team are part of it. In 2008, Albonese hosted the Italian time trial championships.
I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of Albonese. If you have the opportunity to visit this small town, do not hesitate to do so. You will be surprised by its beauty and history. See you soon!
