ILLUSTRIOUS MEN. — Among those to be remembered are the Blessed Cristoforo Maccasoglio of the Franciscan convent of Le Grazie; the Blessed Anselmo degli Anselmi of the Franciscan convent of S. Francesco, also in the city; the Blessed Caterina Naji of Gumbolò and the Blessed Pacifico of the Franciscan convent of Le Grazie; Giovanni Andrea Bussi, bishop of Aleria (q.v.); Francesco Maggi. Uberto and Pier Candido Decembrio, literati, companions of Filelfo at the University of Pavia; Bernardo Ferrari, painter; Mercadante, Zerbi, Antonio Cagnoni, Lorenzo Perosi, musicians; Monsignor Pietro Barbieri, noted for his extensive organizational work.
BUILDINGS AND MONUMENTS. — Besides the Cathedral, of interest is the square with the Ducal Palace, featuring a Bramantesque tower erected by Lodovico il Moro, to whom also goes the construction (c. 1486) of the castellated villa La Sforzesca, 3 km outside V., on land granted by the community and soon converted to cultivation; on this site a clash took place between German and Piedmontese troops on 21 March 1849. Also noteworthy are the 15th-century churches of S. Francesco and S. Pietro Martire.
Within the territory of V. lies Lomello (Laumellum), from which the region takes its name, Lomellina. It is recorded from Roman times, when it was also a municipium; geographers describe it as a mansio on the road from Pavia to Turin; tombs from the Imperial age attest to its continued existence. Paul the Deacon mentions Lomellum ca-It originated from the V. PASQUA, “the mother of all vigils” (St AUGUSTINE, Serm., 219), originally a pannuchis, a night-long celebration of readings from Holy Scripture interspersed with the choral singing of psalms, canticles and their collects, followed by Mass. Such a V. was also held at Pentecost, on the Sundays of the Ember weeks and extended to the feasts of the principal martyrs: of the apostles Peter and Paul, of St LAWRENCE, etc. At Milan a similar V. preceded the feast of SS Peter and Paul, the translation of the relics of SS Gervasius and Protasius and the dedication of the Ambrosian Basilica (St AMBROSE, De virginitate, XIX, 124; Ep., 22, 2).
Similarly at Carthage it preceded the feast of St CYPRIAN (St AUGUSTINE, Enarr. in ps., 32, XI, 1, 5; 85, 24), at Toulouse it was held at the tomb of St SATURNINUS. This public v., with the participation of clergy and faithful, is to be distinguished from the private v., such as those which the faithful held at the tomb of a martyr, but without the celebration of the Eucharist. Later, perhaps already at the beginning of the 5th century, the cemetery V. outside the city at the tombs of the martyrs were held at sunset on the evening before (cf., for example, the Mass I of St LAWRENCE in the Leonian Sacramentary: “praevenientes natalem”).
The other vigils of Easter, of Pentecost, of the Sundays of the Ember weeks were transferred to Saturday evening in the 7th century. A distinctive feature of these vigils was that they began on the evening before the feast or Sunday and ended before midnight. Later they were again anticipated to the time of Nones and received a proper Office for choir and Mass. The original liturgy is preserved in the vigil of Holy Saturday, of Pentecost and of the Saturdays of the Ember weeks.
THE NOCTURNAL HOUR OF THE OFFICE. — This V. derives its origin not from the V. as pannuchis, but from the private prayer of the faithful at midnight, made in common by monks and consequently also by churches (v. MATTUTINO; NOTTURNO; UFFICIO). On weekdays it was held with a Nocturn of 9 psalms and 3 lessons (in the monastic Office in 2 Nocturns with 6 psalms each and with 3 lessons in the first Nocturn). On Sundays the number of lessons was increased (9 in the Church Office, 12 in the monastic), with the psalms and lessons divided into 3 Nocturns.
The number of 3 Nocturns does not derive from military vigils, but from practical necessity: a pause, a breathing space was made after 3 or 4 lessons; they were not considered three distinct vigils, because the individual V. did not close with a corresponding Collect, but ended as if they were one single v., with a single collect. It should be noted that this V. was always held after midnight (in contrast to the other V. mentioned above), “at the first cockcrow” (about three o’clock) and was combined with that morning Office now called Lauds. The anticipation before midnight or on the previous evening began in the 12th century.
Recently J. M. Hanssens has maintained that the V. does not originate from the prayer at midnight, but is considered as an amplification of the properly morning Office of Lauds, allowing the monks to recite the usual Psalter alone or interspersed with lessons, as was done to pass devoutly a total or partial night vigil in preparation for the morning Office.