Lesignano de' Bagni
Lesignano de' Bagni: a municipality in Emilia-Romagna
Hello everyone,
Today I'm going to talk about Lesignano de' Bagni, a municipality in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna. With its 5016 inhabitants, Lesignano is located on the right bank of the Parma river, at the first slopes of the Parmesan Apennines.
Physical geography
The north-west portion of the territory, between the capital, the hamlet of Santa Maria del Piano and the city of Parma, is flat, while the rest is hilly and bathed by the Termina and Masdone streams. Due to the diluting action of rainwater and the nature of the terrain, gullies are widespread.
Since June 9, 2015, part of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, including the territory of Lesignano de' Bagni, has been part of the Biosphere Reserve.
The Barboj Park
Between the hillside hamlet of Rivalta and the locality Torre at about 350 m above sea level extends the Barboj Park. The name refers to the bubbling that accompanies the emission of methane gas from the subsoil through the Mud Volcano. These geological manifestations cause the emergence of salty muds from spring pools that converge into the small Barboj stream, a tributary of the Termina stream.
Thermal waters
In the territory of Lesignano there are sulphurous saline springs, whose waters were used for healing purposes between 1474, the year in which Pier Maria II de' Rossi founded the thermal baths, and the end of the 19th century. Today, the thermal complex of the Terme di Monticelli, just 5 km from Lesignano, offers treatments and therapies based on the therapeutic properties of these thermal waters.
Origin of the name
The toponym Lesignano probably has its origins in Latin. The medieval "Lisiniano", which later became "Lisignano" and "Lesignano", would in fact refer to the ''gens Licinia'', with the addition of the suffix ''-anus''.
History
The oldest human settlements in the area of Lesignano date back to the Bronze Age, between the 17th century BC and the 10th century BC. The Etruscans first and then the Ligurians founded a new one between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC.
Later, the territory came under the control of the Roman Empire. The Lombards occupied the area between the 7th century and the 8th century and began to recover the hills, starting the first cultivations.
The oldest evidence of the existence of the medieval village of "Lisiniano" dates back to 1094, when the locality was mentioned in a notarial deed of sale of a plot of land.
The defensive castle of Lesignano was erected at an unspecified time and in 1405, when it was mentioned for the first time, it belonged to Pier Maria I de' Rossi and Giacomo de' Rossi (bishop). On April 3 of that year, during the clashes between the Rossi of Parma and the Terzi of Parma, the fortress was attacked and conquered by the troops led by Guido Torelli, while a month later the church of San Michele Arcangelo (Lesignano de' Bagni) was almost completely razed to the ground by Pietro da Vianino.
This is just a brief overview of the beauties of Lesignano de' Bagni. If you have the opportunity to visit this area, you won't regret it!
See you next time!
