**VIGEVANO, DIOCESE OF** – City and diocese in the province of Pavia, suffragane of Vercelli.
It has an area of 1,509 sq. km. with a population of 170,800 inhabitants, of whom 170,000 are Catholics distributed in 83 parishes served by 192 diocesan priests and 14 regular clergy; it has 3 male and 4 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 447).
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, it was a Roman trading center, and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. It was the center of the Frankish county known as Bulgaria and a pieve, obtaining an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065). It was the subject of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter, under the Torriani, gained lordship over it, which then passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. Upon the death of Filippo Maria, V. declared itself independent and allied with the Ambrosian Republic, for which it endured a harsh siege by Francesco Sforza, ending in honorable capitulation on 5 June 1449. From then on, it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
V. FORZA, Duke of Milan, by Clement VII with the bull *Pro excellenti praeminentia* in Bologna on 16 March 1530. It was intended to include also the Lomellina, which depended on the Bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. Thus, the new diocese was limited to V. S. Albino in Mortara and S. Gaudenzio in Gambolò. The first bishop was Msgr. Galeazzo Pietra, a native of Pavia, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of S. Maria di Acqualunga, and at his request the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal table. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed the endowment for the episcopal table and for the canons’ prebends from the revenues of the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced, by his order, by those of Zeme), and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of S. Ambrogio to be replaced by the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model is preserved, and enriched it with gifts of precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, Gospels and Epistles (signed by the brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, 14 volumes of illuminated parchment (choir graduals), and large panels.
Vigevano, Diocese of – The baptismal font ensemble of Lomello (8th–9th centuries).
VIGEVANO, DIOCESE OF
City and diocese in the province of Pavia, suffragane of Vercelli.
It has an area of 1509 sq. km. with a population of 170,800 inhabitants, of whom 170,000 are Catholics distributed in 83 parishes served by 192 diocesan priests and 14 regular clergy; it has 3 male and 4 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 447).
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, it was a Roman trading post and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. A centre of the Frankish county called Bulgaria and a pieve, it obtained an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065), was the object of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter under the Torriani family gained lordship over it, which then passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. At the death of Filippo Maria, V. FORZA, ending in honourable capitulation on 5 June 1449. From then on it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
It was part of the diocese of Novara when it was erected as a diocese, at the request of Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan, by Clement VII with the bull Pro excellenti praeminentia in Bologna on 16 March 1530. It was intended to include also the Lomellina, which depended on the bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. Thus the new diocese remained limited to V. S. Albino di Mortara and S. Gaudenzio in Gambolà. The first bishop was Msgr. Galeazzo Pietra, a native of Pavia, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of S. Maria di Acqualunga, and at the request of the same commendatory abbot the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal table. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed revenues from the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced by Charles V with those of Zeme) for the episcopal table and for the canons’ prebends, and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of S. Ambrogio to be replaced by the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model is preserved, and enriched it with precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, epistles and gospels (signed: brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, 14 volumes of illuminated parchment (graduals for the choir), large panels## VIGEVANO, DIOCESE OF
City and diocese in the province of Pavia, suffragane of Vercelli.
It has an area of 1509 km² with a population of 170,800 inhabitants, of whom 170,000 are Catholics distributed across 83 parishes served by 192 diocesan priests and 14 regular clergy; it includes 3 male and 4 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 447).
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, it was a Roman trading center, and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. It was the center of the Frankish county known as Bulgaria and a pieve, obtaining an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065). It was the object of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter, under the Torriani, gained lordship over it, which later passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. At the death of Filippo Maria, V. declared itself independent and allied with the Ambrosian Republic, for which it endured a harsh siege by Francesco Sforza, ending in an honorable capitulation on 5 June 1449. From then on, it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
V. FORZA, Duke of Milan, by Clement VII with the bull *Pro excellenti praeminentia* in Bologna on 16 March 1530. It was intended to include also the Lomellina, which depended on the bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. Thus the new diocese remained limited to V. S. Albino in Mortara and S. Gaudenzio in Gambolà. The first bishop was Msgr. Galeazzo Pietra, a native of Pavia, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of S. Maria di Acqualunga, and at his own request the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal table. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed the endowment for the episcopal table and for the canons’ prebends from the revenues of the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced, by his order, by those of Zeme through Charles V) and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of S. Ambrogio to be replaced by the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model is preserved, and enriched it with gifts of precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, epistles and gospels (signed by the brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, 14 volumes of illuminated parchment (choir graduals), and large panels.
VIGEVANO, DIOCESE OF
City and diocese in the province of Pavia, suffragane of Vercelli.
It has an area of 1509 sq. km. with a population of 170,800 inhabitants, of whom 170,000 are Catholics distributed in 83 parishes served by 192 diocesan priests and 14 regular clergy; it has 3 male and 4 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 447).
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, it was a Roman trading post and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. A centre of the Frankish county called Bulgaria and a pieve, it obtained an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065), was the object of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter, under the Torriani, gained lordship over it, which then passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. At the death of Filippo Maria, V. declared itself independent and allied with the Ambrosian Republic, for which it endured a harsh siege by Francesco Sforza, ending in honourable surrender on 5 June 1449. From then on it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
It was part of the diocese of Novara when, at the request of Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan, it was erected into a diocese by Clement VII with the bull *Pro excellenti praeminentia* in Bologna on 16 March 1530. It was intended to include also the Lomellina, which depended on the bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. The new diocese therefore remained limited to V. S. Albino di Mortara and S. Gaudenzio in Gambolà. The first bishop was Msgr. Galeazzo Pietra, a native of Pavia, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of S. Maria di Acqualunga, and at his request the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal table. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed revenues from the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced, by his order, by those of Zeme) for the episcopal table and for the canons’ prebends, and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of S. Ambrogio to be replaced by the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model survives, enriched with gifts of precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, evangeliaries and epistolaries (signed by the brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, 14 volumes of illuminated parchment (graduals for the choir), and large## VIGEVANO, DIOCESE OF
City and diocese in the province of Pavia, suffragane of Vercelli.
It has an area of 1509 sq. km. with a population of 170,800 inhabitants, of whom 170,000 are Catholics distributed in 83 parishes served by 192 diocesan priests and 14 regular clergy; it has 3 male and 4 female religious communities (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 447).
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, it was a Roman emporium and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. It was the center of the Frankish county known as Bulgaria and a pieve, obtaining an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065). It was the object of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter, under the Torriani, gained lordship over it, which then passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. At the death of Filippo Maria, V. declared itself independent and allied with the Ambrosian Republic, for which it endured a harsh siege by Francesco Sforza, ending in honorable capitulation on June 5, 1449. From then on, it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
V. FORZA, Duke of Milan, by Clement VII with the bull *Pro excellenti praeminentia* in Bologna on March 16, 1530. It was intended to include also the Lomellina, which depended on the bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. Thus the new diocese remained limited to V. S. Albino in Mortara and S. Gaudenzio in Gambolà. The first bishop was Msgr. Galeazzo Pietra, a native of Pavia, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of S. Maria di Acqualunga, and at his own request the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal see. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed the endowment for the episcopal see and for the canons’ prebends from the revenues of the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced, by his order, by those of Zeme through Charles V), and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of S. Ambrogio to be replaced by the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model is preserved, and enriched it with gifts of precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, evangeliaries and epistolaries (signed by the brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, 14 volumes of illuminated parchment (choir graduals), and large panels.
On the right bank of the Ticino, along one of the most frequented routes between Lombardy and Piedmont, Vigevano was a Roman emporium and nearby the Battle of the Ticino was fought between Hannibal and Scipio. Center of the Frankish county known as Bulgaria and a pieve, it obtained an immunity diploma from Henry IV (1065), became the object of a centuries-long dispute between Pavia and Milan, until the latter, under the Torriani, gained lordship over it, which then passed to the Visconti: Luchino built the castle there. At the death of Filippo Maria, Vigevano declared itself independent and allied with the Ambrosian Republic, for which it endured a harsh siege by Francesco Sforza, ending in honorable capitulation on 5 June 1449. From then on, it followed the fortunes of the Duchy of Milan through successive dominations.
Vigevano was part of the Diocese of Novara when it was erected as a diocese at the request of Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan, by Clement VII with the bull *Pro excellenti praeminentia* in Bologna on 16 March 1530. It was intended to include the Lomellina as well, which depended on the Bishop of Pavia, but he refused to cede the territory. Thus the new diocese remained limited to Vigevano and the parishes of Sant’Albino in Mortara and San Gaudenzio in Gambolò. The first bishop was Monsignor Galeazzo Pietra, a Pavian, who was commendatory abbot of the Cistercian abbey of Santa Maria di Acqualunga; at his request, the Pope assigned part of this abbey to the episcopal table. The Duke, for his part, guaranteed revenues from the Villa Sforzesca (later replaced, by his order, with those of Zeme) for the episcopal table and for canonical prebends, and ordered the demolition of the pre-existing collegiate church of Sant’Ambrogio to make way for the solemn Bramantesque cathedral begun by Ambrogio di Lanate (1532), of which a perfectly restored wooden model survives, enriched with precious tapestries, gold and silver furnishings, epistles and gospels (signed by the brothers Decio and Agostino Ferrante), illuminated missals, fourteen volumes of illuminated parchment (graduals for the choir), and panels of great value, including the altarpiece of the Crucifixion signed by Cesare Magni, bearing the portrait of Monsignor Pietra kneeling, with Saint Ambrose and Saint Jerome, etc. Work on the cathedral proceeded very slowly; the façade had to await the genius of Caramuel (1673–82), and the dome was not completed until the episcopate of Monsignor Cattaneo (1712–30).
Clement VII, in the bull of foundation addressed to the Duke and his successors, granted the right of nomination for the bishop and all city benefices, both canonical and parochial. This right then passed to Charles V and his successors, the Kings of Spain, until the death of Philip in 1714; by the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt, which assigned Vigevano to Lombardy and thus to Austria, the patronage passed to the German Emperor. Finally, by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which granted Vigevano to the House of Savoy, this right was regularly exercised by the Kings of Sardinia and Italy. No government ever imposed the establishment of parish fabbriche or similar institutions for the administration of churches. On 18 February 1801, Monsignor Maria Giuseppe Scarampi died, and on 28 March a Commissioner of the Cisalpine Republic ordered the suppression of the Chapter, though it was restored in 1805. On 17 August 1817, with the creation of the new ecclesiastical province of Vercelli, the Diocese of Vigevano—previously subject to Milan—was assigned to II. Moreover, by express intervention of King Victor Emmanuel I, the Lomellina was united to the Diocese of Vigevano, increasing the number of parishes from about five to seventy. In 1830, the Vigevanese parish of Gravellona was exchanged for the Novarese parish of Sozzago.
The seminary, begun by the second bishop, Maurizio Pietra, in 1565 just after returning from the Council of Trent, was properly organized by Monsignor Sormani Marino (1688–90) in 1702, who assigned the little church of Sant’Anna to its service and built its first proper seat, still preserved and connected to the large Palazzo ordered by Bishop Monsignor Toppia (1818–28). Unable to complete during his lifetime all that he wished, he left to his successor, Monsignor Accusani (1830–43), the task and means to erect a building capable of housing the many young men required by the great expansion of the diocese.
Monsignor De Gaudenzi (1871–91) opened the Minor Seminary with internal grammar-school classes and built the adjoining church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, frescoed by Morgari.
**Shrines.** — The Diocese of Vigevano possesses near Garlasco an important and devout shrine, the Madonna della Bozzola, consisting of a grand temple designed by the architect Cesare Nava of Milan, together with recently constructed annexes. Worthy of special mention is the Madonna inter vineas near Vigevano, extremely ancient, being recorded in various charters of the 12th century.