Bobbio - History

History

Known to the ancients as Bobium or Ebovium, the town underwent many settlements from the Neolithic Age up to the contemporary one. Several archaeological finds testify to the presence of Liguri, Boii (Gauls of Celtic origin), and from the fourteenth century B.C. the Romans.

But the history of Bobbio is tied to the existence of the Abbey founded in 614 by the Irish monk Saint Columbanus (It. Colombano), who received the district from the Longobard King Agilulf.

Bobbio Abbey (see main article) increased its possessions and became one of the principal seats of culture and religion of Northern Italy and a center of learning during the Middle Ages, and was renowned for its famous Scriptorium and Library. In the tenth century there were 700 codices; but its decline in the fifteenth century led to the dispersal of the library. The monastery was officially suppressed by the French in 1803.

This monastery is in part the model for the great monastery in Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.

In 1014 Bobbio was erected a City and Episcopal See and surrounded by city walls that form the Contea of Bobbio.

The city lay in the region of Liguria but in 1230 Piacenza conquered Bobbio and its dominion lasted until the fourteenth century when the Contea of Bobbio passed, first, under the rule of the Malaspina, and then under the rule of the Visconti, the dukes of Milan.

In 1387 the city passed to the Dal Verme family and formed the Contea of Bobbio and Voghera; in 1516 the area formed the Marchesate of Bobbio.

The town became part of the domains of the House of Savoy in 1748 after the Wars of Succession and formed the Province of Bobbio.

In 1796 the French arrived in Italy and only four years later Napoleon suppressed the monastery and sold its treasures.

From 1815 to 1859 Bobbio and its province were included into the Department of Genoa, then passed to Pavia and finally in 1923 to Piacenza.

On 7 July 1944, the partisan resistance in Italy conquered the town, formed the Republic of Bobbio and governed it autonomously until it was crushed by the Germans on 27 August, the same year.

The bishopric dates from 1014. On 30 September 1986, the Diocese was suppressed and merged with Archdiocese of Genoa. Since 1989, Bobbio has been united with the Diocese of Piacenza to form the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio.