Ceretto Lomellina
Discover the Municipality of Ceretto Lomellina
Ceretto Lomellina is a small municipality located in the province of Pavia in Lombardy with a population of 179. The town is located in western Lomellina, near the right bank of the Agogna River. Its history is particularly interesting and full of events worth discovering.
The History of Ceretto Lomellina
The first mention of the town dates back to 988 when some lands were granted to the monastery of San Silvestro. According to Lomellina historians, there was a "hospital" of the Holy Sepulchre in the area that offered shelter to pilgrims and had special property income. These hospitals were located along the route of the Roman roads, and it is possible that it was founded in the 11th or 12th century, after the first crusade to the Holy Land. A section of a gravel road was found in 1905, by testimony of Mr. Antonio Provera of Ceretto.
Later, Ceretto Lomellina passed to the palatine counts of Lomello, a branch of which took the name of the town. In the 15th century, it appeared as a fief of the Beccaria from Pavia and subsequently of the Giorgi, also from Pavia. In 1637, it was given as a fief to Egidio "de Roma," a Milanese patrician, whose nephew Gregorio was allowed to call himself "Orsini di Roma" due to a supposed descent from the Orsini family. The Orsini di Roma fiefdom lasted until the abolition of feudalism in 1797.
Ceretto Lomellina, like the whole of Lomellina, became part of the Savoy domains in 1707, and in 1859 was included in the province of Pavia.
The Symbols of Ceretto Lomellina
The Municipality of Ceretto Lomellina has a coat of arms and a gonfalon granted by the President of the Republic in 1955. The gonfalon is a white and green split flag.
Places of Interest in Ceretto Lomellina
Despite its small size, Ceretto Lomellina has some interesting places to discover.
Church of San Pietro Apostolo
The Church of San Pietro Apostolo has been in Ceretto Lomellina since the 14th century and was under the control of the Lateran Canons of Mortara until 1778. The church was rebuilt starting in 1764, following the traces of the oldest building: layers of Roman bricks, medieval walls "a fustelli," and reconstructions from the 15th century. Of Piedmontese baroque style, it has a Latin cross plan with a polychrome marble high altar. You can also visit the prioral room above the sacristy, with stucco and a door from the 16th century.
Disappeared Monuments
The names of the town's alleys may give indications about the buildings that have disappeared: a "Monastero" dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre, which disappeared in the 16th century, and the "Castello," rebuilt by the Beccaria, which would have been located atop a hill, at the end of Torrione alley. Finally, on a building on Via Roma, you can still see the prioral coat of arms of the Mortariense Order of Santa Croce.
Ceretto Lomellina, despite its small size, is a town full of history and interest, which is worth visiting and discovering.
