Ivrea, Diocese of

IVREA, DIOCESE of. — City and diocese of Piedmont, in the province of Turin; population 168,000, of whom 16,000 in the city; 143 parishes, divided into 25 vicariates forane; 317 priests; 102 religious, of whom 12 are non-priests; 945 women religious belonging to 21 communities. Major and Minor Seminaries. Patroness Maria Most Holy Assunta; patron saint of the city s. Savino martyr, bishop of Spoleto.

I. CIVIL HISTORY

Eporedia (a Celtic place-name of uncertain origin, interpreted by C. Nigra as “station of equestrian chariots”) was called the last colony of Civium Romanorum, founded in 100 B.C. on the dioritic eminence overlooking the road to the Graian and Pennine Alps. The Eporedian territory was assigned to the Pollia tribe and formed part of the eleventh Augustan region. Toward the end of Lombard rule, I. became the seat of a duchy; under Charlemagne, who passed through it on 24 June 801, it became the seat of a county, and thereafter, from 888, the capital of the March of Ivrea, which reached its apogee under Arduino (v.). With the defeat of the king of Italy, the March of I. was united with that of Turin in the person of Olderico Manfredi, but Arduino’s sons retained the county there. The government of I., episcopal and communal from 1094 to 1238, became a lordship under Frederick II, Carlo d’Angiò, Guglielmo VII, and Giovanni I di Monferrato. On 13 November 1313 it passed to the House of Savoy, and Amedeo VI built there in 1358, to demonstrate his authority, the historic castle, now converted into a prison. Canavese (ager. Canapicianus) was often the scene of fratricidal struggles: noteworthy were the conflicts between the commune of I. and that of Vercelli (thirteenth century), the raids and sackings of the fourteenth century during the disputes between the Savoyards and the Monferrato, and the uprising of the Tuchini (1386), which then brought misfortune upon the fifteenth century. In the following centuries, Canavese followed the changing fortunes of the Savoyard State and was the scene of the uprisings of Brandalucioni and the Christian mass (1799), and of the Zoccoli (1801). Napoleon occupied I. on 22 May 1800.

II. RELIGIOUS HISTORY

The Christian origins of the Eporedian territory date back to the 4th century. As for the martyrs Besso and Tegolo, numbered among the Theban martyrs, nothing is known; it is not unlikely that they were local saints. The diocese of I. was separated from that of Vercelli at the beginning of the 5th century, and the first known bishop is St. Eulogius, present at the Synod of Milan in 451 (Mansi, VI, 143). To the 5th century and the beginning of the 6th belong several Christian funerary inscriptions, six of them bearing consular dates: the oldest, from 440, recalls a Basil, a merchant of Syrian origin; another recalls Bishop Innocent, who died at the age of 72 on 29 March 486. The funerary poem of the priest Silvius, preserved in the Palatine collection, probably dates from the 6th century; it is impossible to determine to which saints the «sanctorum pignora» mentioned there belonged. I. formed part of the metropolitan province of Milan until 1515, when Leo X raised Turin to metropolitan status. Given the strategic and political importance of its territory, the Eporedian see had a very rich and eventful history, and its bishops were numbered among the great feudal lords of the subalpine region. From the middle of the 10th century to the beginning of the 12th, the emperors of the Saxon and Franconian houses took care to have trusted men of theirs elected to II.
The episcopal catalogue is fragmentary up to the 10th century. Among the great bishops of I., only the following may be mentioned: Giuseppe (844–56), archchaplain to the Emperor; Varmondo (v.), elected by Otto I in 969, opponent of Arduino and restorer of art and culture in the subalpine lands (d. ca. 1015); Enrico (1029–59), present at the Council

(phot. Laura Sandri)
IVREA, diocesi di — Octagonal church of S. Lorenzo in Castello, probably erected in the 7th century, recently restored — Settimo Vittone.

of the Lateran in 1059; Ogerio (1074–95), poet and chancellor of Henry IV for Italy (Jan. 1088–Feb. 1093), supporter of the antipope Clement III; Guido (1122–62), distinguished benefactor of the Eporedian Church; Pietro (1206–1208), abbot of Lucedio, who took part in the Fourth Crusade with Boniface VIII, marquis of Monferrato (1202), was one of the twelve great electors of the Latin Emperor of Constantinople (1204), became abbot of La Ferté (1205), and was highly esteemed by Innocent III, who appointed him archbishop of Thessalonica (1208), then patriarch of Antioch (1209); Oberto (1209–50?), a skilful restorer of the temporal possessions of the episcopal mensa, was the first to bear the title of count, asserted the rights of the municipality of Ivrea against that of Vercelli, and acted as peacemaker between the two municipalities; Federico di Front (1264–89), the driving force behind the resistance against the marquis of Monferrato, Guglielmo VII, who intended to become lord of I., rector of the March of Ancona, and archbishop of Ferrara (1289–1303). Under Bishop Pietro Condé (1373–99), I. passed under Avignonese obedience. Throughout the 16th century the see of I. was occupied family (v.). Giuseppe Ottavio Pochettini (1769–1803) had a troubled episcopate because of political events, but was a secret Jansenist, known within the sect by the epithet «Vecchio» (cf. P. Savio, La devozione di mons. Adeodato Turchi alla S. Sede, Roma 1938, p. 434). Luigi Moreno (1838–78) was the most illustrious pastor of the previous century for learning and zeal.

1. Illustrious figures

Among the numerous figures born in the diocese of I. are: St. Gaudentius (v.), first bishop of Novara; Arduino (v.), St. Guglielmo di Volpiano (v.), Bl. Angelo da Chivasso (v.), Bl. Bartolomea Carletti, Poor Clare, co-founder of the monastery of S. Chiara in Chivasso (d. in 1412); FERRARIENSIS (v.); G. Bosio da Chivasso (1545–1627), historiographer of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, BOSONE (v.); Ven. Rubino da Strambino (1578–1643), Jesuit missionary, martyr in Japan; C. Botta (v.); G. B. De Rossi (v.); G. Flechia di Piverone (1811–92), Sanskritist and linguist; C. Nigra di Castelnuovo (1828–1907), diplomat and philologist; G. Giacosa (v.); P. A. Yon di Settimo Vittone (1886–1943), composer and organist of the cathedral of Nuova York.

2. Episcopal School. Archives. Monuments. — The episcopal school of I. must already have been renowned at the beginning of the 9th century, since it is expressly mentioned in the celebrated Capitulare Olonense of Lothair I (May 825) concerning public schools in Italy (cf. MGH, Capitularia, ed. A. Boretius, I [1883], p. 237). The fragment of mosaic pavement (reproduced under the entry FILOSOFIA) depicting the triumph of philosophy seems to have been the floor of the school hall in the time of Bishop Varmondo (969–ca. 1015). Although information about this school and its scriptorium is scant, their activity is reflected in the rich collection of codices belonging to the Cathedral, later enlarged by a considerable number of incunabula; among the codices are the Regula Pastoralis of St. Gregory the Great, in Merovingian script, from the 8th century; the illuminated Sacramentary, produced for and under the direction of Bishop Varmondo; the group of liturgical books produced for the same bishop (cf. L. Magnani, Le miniature del Sacramentario di I. e di altri codici Warmondiani, Città del Vaticano 1934, p. 11: the earlier authors who dealt with the codices of the Chapter Library of I. are listed there); and an interesting musical codex from the end of the 14th century (cf. G. Borghezio, Un prezioso codice musicale ignorato della Biblioteca capitolare di I., in Bollet. stor. bibliografico subalpino, 24 [1922], pp. 190–98). The Archives are exceedingly rich: the chapter archive, arranged and provided with an inventory, contains documents from 1007 onward and a series of chapter registers: 84 volumes, 1258–1729; the episcopal archive, not arranged, contains documents from 1000 onward; the municipal, judicial, and administrative archives are arranged; the libraries of the Seminary and the municipality are of lesser importance.

Among the monuments, the first to be mentioned is the Cathedral, built toward the end of the 10th century by Bishop Varmondo and restored several times according to questionable principles; it has preserved from antiquity the crypt and the external dome flanked by two bell towers. In the sacristy there is a precious carved ivory casket (9th–10th centuries) and two magnificent paintings by Defendente Ferrari (1521). The ancient S. Lorenzo in Castello of Settimo Vittone may date from the 7th century. Evocative are the Romanesque churches of S. Stefano di Candia and S. Pietro in Pessano (11th–12th centuries), as well as various Romanesque bell towers, such as those of S. Stefano d'I. and Fruttuaria (11th century). The parish church of Chivasso—a noteworthy medieval center of religious and political life, seat of the government of Monferrato until 1435 and of one of the oldest printing presses in Piedmont [1486], directed by G. Svigo—has preserved its Gothic façade with terracotta ornamentation. Noteworthy is the Baroque parish church of Strambino (1781 onward). Of historical importance are the castles of Montalto (14th century), the Castello del Conte Verde at I. (1358), and Masino (rebuilt in the 17th–18th centuries), where Arduino’s ashes are preserved.

3. I monasteri

In I. fiori per molti secoli l'abbazia di S. Stefano, fondata dal vescovo Enrico nel 1044; decaduta a causa della commenda (sec. XV), fu soppressa nel 1800 e i suoi beni venduti all'asta; degli edifici abbaziali rimane il solo campanile. Lo stesso vescovo fondò il monastero di S. Michele per monache, dal 1940 proprietà delle Suore dell'Immacolata d'I. Notevoli pure i conventi dei Francescani, dei Domenicani (sec. XIII) e dei Minori Osservanti (1456). La più celebre abbazia dell'agro eporediese è S. Benigno di Fruttuaria, centro di riforma cluniacense, affiliata all'abbazia di St-Bénigne di Digione, fondata da s. Guglielmo di Volpiano (v.) nel 1003, col favore di Arduino, suo parente. La chiesa abbaziale, di cui rimane superstite il solo campanile (la chiesa fu rifatta in stile neoclassico dal card. Vittorio Amedeo delle Lanze tra il 1770 e il 1776) fu consacrata nel 1006 da 4 vescovi delegati da Giovanni XVIII. I papi da Giovanni XVIII e gli imperatori da Enrico II (31 ag. 1006) la presero sotto la loro protezione e ne confermarono più volte l'immenso patrimonio. I vescovi Varmondo (prima del 3 genn. 1015) e Enrico (12 marzo 1029) concessero all'abbazia la esenzione della giurisdizione episcopale. Infatti Cencio Camerario annovera l'abbazia « Sancti Benigni de Fructeriis » (cf. Liber Censuum, ed. G. Fabre-L. Duchesne, I, Parigi 1889-1910, p. 245) fra le abbazie S. Petri, nullius dioecescos. L'abbazia esercitò un grande influsso religioso, culturale e politico non solo nelle regioni subalpine, ma anche in Italia, e diversi monasteri seguivano la sua Regola; la commenda, incominciata nel 1450 con l'ex antipapa Felice V, la portò alla rovina; nel 1617, il card. Maurizio

(fot. G. Ravero)

di Savoia la trasformò in collegiata, con canonici secolari; soppressa una prima volta il 1º giugno 1803, lo fu poi definitivamente il 15 ag. 1869. Nell'abbazia di Fruttuaria si ritirò Arduino (10 sett. 1014): vi morì e vi fu sepolto (14 dic. 1015). Il primo abate fu Giovanni l'Uomo di Dio (v. GIOVANNI DI FRUTTUARIA). Una parte del ricco Archivio si trova in quello di Stato di Torino. Nel 1879 il Palazzo abbaziale fu ceduto a s. Giovanni Bosco ed oggi vi fiorisce una rinomata scuola salesiana di arti emestieri. - Vedi tav. XXXV.