PO LUGLIO

IL FIUME PO

SECCA DI LUGLIO 

Continua a mantenersi stabile

I grandi sabbioni sono diventati erbosi, infatti da molto tempo su queste parti di alveo di Po non scorre più acqua.

Il Grande Fiume appare sempre molto torbido, con la corrente ridotta al minimo, difatti le portate rimangono stabili sui 185 mc/s con un'altezza all'idrometro che segna -80 centimetri sotto lo zero idrometrico. Questi sono dati che, più o meno, ormai da tante settimane rimangono fermi su questi valori.

Praticamente siamo al limite della secca storica idrica dell'anno 2022.

Resta inteso che il Po ha il suo canale principale con qualche metro di acqua, in questo tratto piacentino.

I problemi sono però per le irrigazioni delle colture, e per quel che appare ad oggi, non ci sono neanche problemi alle falde, che continuano a dare acqua.

Gli affluenti del Po, quali fiume Ticino e fiume Lambro praticamente sono anch'essi con portato molto ridotta. 

un sabbione riemerso con la secca del Po foto U B 

THE ANCIENT STATUE IS BEING RECOVERED

FROM THE YEAR 2016 RECOVERED
REMITTANCE TO PUBLIC WORSHIP
IN THE CHURCH OF CALENDASCO 
The ancient statue of the Patron Saint Conrad

THE 1907 STATUE OF ST. CORRADO IN CHURCH IN CALENDASCO 

Here is the story of recovery

 

It had been abandoned since the 1970s in the attic of the Canonical House of the parish church of Calendasco

And even, with great devotion, even if very heavy, it was carried in procession on the solemn Feast of February 19, the day of the Dies Natalis of San Corrado Confalonieri.

One morning in a winter month, Umberto Battini, scholar and historian of S. Corrado, a devotee, found the precious statue in the attic, covered with a plastic sheet.
Looking at it he saw that it was blackened by time, but it was still in more than excellent condition, although it was painted and made of plaster it had no damage.
With the permission of the parish priest of those days, who was Don Fabio Battiato, it was taken to the first floor of the rectory, where Umberto Battini cleaned it over several days.
 
And so on the feast of February 19th of that 2016 she was once again exposed to public devotion in the church and is still on display today with the Cilio donated by the Netini in 2015 when they came to Calendasco as pilgrims.

At the end of Holy Mass the devout historian, always in agreement with the parish priest, traced a brief history of this beautiful statue, which obviously the elders remembered well.

Searching the parish archives and studying them for some time and several years, Battini discovered the documentation relating to the statue: the report of July 3, 1907, from the Parish Council of Calendasco, chaired by the parish priest and archpriest Don Giovanni Caprara and other lay people of the town, approved its purchase.
The price is indicated: "an expense of approximately L. 40", which at today's value corresponds to approximately 4000 euros. 

 

The documentation is also published in Umberto Battini's 2024 book "The Documents of the Cult of San Corrado - The Original Papers of Calendasco on the Secular Patronage."
 
Some time later, the parish priest Don Fabio Battiato had the beautiful raised wooden base that stands today built.
Since September 2025, the current parish priest, Don Fabio Galli (who resides in San Nicolò a Trebbia), has displayed it in a new setting, at the entrance to the church, still next to the majestic Cilio di Noto and four brilliant wooden candlesticks.
 
The patron saint of the village, where he was also physically born in the large castle, as per the notarial deed made in the curia in Piacenza on 9 August 1617 signed by the Bishop, after historical research, has been Saint Corrado Confalonieri for over 400 years.

In the hospitable hermitage of the village of S. Corrado, welcomed by Brother Aristide in 1315, began his lay mission as a Franciscan tertiary penitent.

He will leave and after various pilgrimages he arrives in Noto where he lives in the Valle dei Tre Pizzoni in a cave living as a hermit. 
 
There were many miracles in his life and after his death, in that rocky cave.
Calendasco and Known for these historical facts are united in the cult and devotion to their sole Patron of Heaven. 

To be fair in the historical account of the facts, we would like to point out that Umberto Battini has published some study books with documents relating to S. Corrado, in addition to dozens of popular articles on the Holy Hermit in local Piacenza newspapers and having participated in several popular conferences on the Saint of Calendasco, has organized important documentary exhibitions.

Since 2015 he has been an Honorary Member of the Cilii Bearers of Noto, a conferral that took place in the church in Calendasco. 
In 2019 he was awarded the Proserpina Siciliani nel Mondo Prize, in the Hall of Honour of the Municipality of Caravaggio, for his studies on S. Corrado and the Confalonieri family.  

 

 

if you copy cite the source 

 

 

LIBRO DEGLI INEDITI

LEGAME STORICO

San Corrado Confalonieri

il legame storico fra Piacenza e Noto

Le tre lettere conoscitive inviate dai Giurati di Noto nel 1610

 

di Umberto Battini

    storico di S. Corrado e divulgatore

Dal lontano medioevo del XIV secolo, una linea ininterrotta corre tra la terra di Piacenza e quella sicula: il nobile milite S. Corrado Confalonieri smette le vesti e lo sfarzo ed indossata una grigia tunica s’avvia alla santità nella terra che più l’ha amato in vita e in morte, l’Ingegnosa Noto. 

Ma i rapporti tra la terra natia e quella d’adozione, circa la storia e la valorizzazione umana e poi spirituale del Santo Eremita, hanno avuto uno sviluppo nei secoli attinente allo svolgersi degli accadimenti che proprio da Noto portarono ad elevare agli altari questo virtuoso uomo di fede.

In effetti, in base agli attuali riscontri storici, la vera e propria riscoperta piacentina di questo insigne santo la dobbiamo collocare nei primi anni del 1600, quando per mano degli Anziani della città di Noto, si avvisò la città di Piacenza inviando tre lettere arrivate il 28 aprile 1611, una diretta alla persona del Duca Farnese, una al Vescovo e altra lettera agli Anziani che avevano il governo della città, nella missiva si chiedeva espressamente di far ricerche d’archivio sul Santo Corrado. 

Addirittura gli stessi Anziani netini segnalano in queste lettere alcuni dati storici già in loro possesso, quali il fatto che fosse stato maritato con una nobile lodigiana di nome Eufrosina divenuta poi monaca clarissa e che fosse stato feudatario del castello piacentino di Calendasco.

particolare della pagina del "Legato Sancto Conradi" relativa alla testimonianza della nascita

Ma è questa ultima affermazione fatta dai Giurati netini che assume un valore importantissimo per la storiografia corradiana, in effetti la casata dei Confalonieri fu per alcuni secoli feudataria di Calendasco, esercitando dal poderoso maniero il dominio su questa ricca terra attaccata al fiume Po, al nord-ovest di Piacenza. 

E che la casata Confalonieri fosse tra le preminenti della città, pur mantenendo questa prerogativa feudale dal borgo, lo testimonia il fatto che uno dei quattro congiurati che nel 1547 uccideranno il Duca Pier Luigi Farnese, figlio di papa Paolo III, sia stato proprio Giovanluigi Confalonieri feudatario abitante a Calendasco come mostrano gli atti delle confisca farnesiana conclusa nel 1586. 

Questi accadimenti sicuramente non aiutarono a far sì che le gesta del Santo Eremita, amatissimo a Noto ma anche ormai in tutta la Sicilia e meridione, si divulgassero nella sua terra natale, proprio per il fatto che un suo lontano pronipote partecipò a questo tremendo fatto del quale si occuparono tutti i maggiori storici e politici di quel tempo. Prova ne è che solo sessant’anni dopo ed a confisca conclusa, con l’espulsione del reo costretto a trasferirsi a Milano, si ufficializza e valorizza finalmente anche in Piacenza il Santo piacentino, siamo appunto all’inizio del 1600. 

Una delegazione venne da Noto a Piacenza nel 1612 per perorare ancor più queste ricerche, ed è proprio in quegli anni che a Piacenza in cattedrale gli si erige una cappella con affreschi della vita del Santo Corrado e l’anno seguente il canonico e storico piacentino Pier Maria Campi pubblica una agiografia che però, come scrive lo stesso autore, si rifà completamente a quella inviata da Noto nel 1610 scritta dal canonico netino Girolamo Pugliese, quindi di scarno valore storico oltre al già conosciuto: lo stesso prete Campi ammette che dovrà scrivere ancora e meglio del Santo. 

castello di Calendasco feudo Confalonieri nel medioevo

 

Intanto il vescovo della città di Piacenza mons. Claudio Rangoni avvia le indagini storiche richieste da Noto che terminano nel 1617 con il prezioso documento conosciuto come Legato Sancti Conradi, redatto dal cancelliere episcopale della curia che era anche notaio pubblico.

L’atto diplomatico cioè il Legato si conserva nel fondo notarile in Archivio di Stato a Piacenza ed anche in quello della parrocchia di Calendasco; questo atto entra a pieno titolo nella vicenda corradiana perché si scopre che in quello stesso borgo San Corrado era nato fisicamente e quindi si procedeva ad erigere una suntuosa cappella nella stessa chiesa, elevandolo a Patrono della comunità anche perchè, viene testimoniato e scritto, già da tempo gli abitanti del borgo erano al santo eremita fedelissimi devoti.

Il Legato subito nelle prime righe afferma che San Corrado è un membro della Illustrissima famiglia dei Confalonieri che furono Signori Feudatari nel luogo di Calendasco che abitavano il territorio vivendo nel maestoso castello, territorio e paese nella parte del Ducato di Piacenza che è situata oltre il Trebbia. 

Viene messo apertamente in evidenza che senza ombra di dubbio, e non possediamo nessuna prova contraria ed opposta dell’epoca, il santo sia un Confalonieri ed abbiamo prove scritte che tale Famiglia abitando questo feudo abbia sempre mantenuto un legame fortissimo con il paese, e mai ebbe uno screzio con il presbitero del borgo nel corso dei tre secoli che vissero nel castello.

Umberto Battini

storico di S. Corrado e divulgatore 

se copi qualcosa cita autore e fonte 

è un testo estratto da un mio articolo apparso sul quotidano a Piacenza

THE DOCUMENT OF 1617

THE “SANCTI CONRADI LEGATE” 

OF 9 AUGUST 1617 DRAWN UP 

IN THE CURIA IN PIACENZA

by Umberto Battini
historian of S. Corrado 

image of the year 1917 of Calendasco, the square with the church

 

This text was published in the Author's 2024 book "THE DOCUMENTS OF WORSHIP IN SAN CORRADO" and is reserved property
if you copy something cite the source

Among the archive documents, the original copy of the Legato Sancti Conradi is also preserved.
A copy is preserved in an original ink, in the State Archives of Piacenza in the Notarial Fund.
The important document was published in full, both in photographic format, and in the Latin transcription and Italian translation in the book “S. Corrado Confalonieri - I Documenti Inediti Piacentini” published in 2006 by Umberto Battini.
That book also contains a historical critique of the notarial document, of crucial importance for the history of the Holy Hermit.

The Legate written in the Curia is approved and decreed by the Bishop of Piacenza who publicly approves it. The notarial deed states that the Confalonieri family had been feudal lords of Calendasco for centuries. 
It is written down in black and white that after an investigation into the public life of Saint Corrado, it has been concluded that the Saint was physically born in the town of Calendasco.
It is written that for all these very reasons, the Saint elected Patron Saint was to be most venerated in that country.
As we have seen from the documentation, in fact the local cult in Calendasco was very strong.

 

By tradition, San Corrado was said “of Piacenza” because, in distant Noto, the capital city was taken into consideration. 
In that distant Middle Ages, who in the Sicilian land of Noto could have known of a small town called Calendasco, a fiefdom of the Santo family who lived among them? 
And we must not forget a historical event that is also crucial to the events in Corradi: the murder of Pope Paul III's son in Piacenza, Pier Luigi Farnese, by the conspirator Giovan Luigi Confalonieri, a feudal lord living in Calendasco: it was September 10, 1547. 
From that moment the cult towards St. Corrado suffered a strong “stop” to its spread in Piacenza and in particular in the town of the Confalonieri: Calendasco.

After the saint's death in 1351, given his distance from his homeland, it became more convenient to define him according to the case “of Piacenza” or “Piacentino” in a general sense.
In a predictable manner, after the 1617 curia deed that testifies to his birth in the village, as the documents recorded clearly show, Piacenza's cult was concentrated only on Calendasco.

The two monuments: the 13th-century castle, the Confalonieri fiefdom, and the convent hospital for pilgrims, the Saint's first retreat after the fire, encouraged the Noble Patron to bring prestige to the local church, founded in the 8th century.
From 1617, a chapel with an altar for Holy Mass was built in the church, it was completely decorated, and the large painting that still stands there in plain sight to devotees was placed.

 

This was followed by frescoes of the Life of the Hermit, the request for relics directly from Noto, and then the obtaining from the arm preserved in Piacenza, the Relic of the Left Thumb Finger.

 

In the church there is also the imperious statue for processions, and then the gift of the other painting from 1700, with the saint kneeling in the cave in front of the Holy Virgin. 
Also important is the 1971 fresco in the apse, where the majestic Saint Corrado stands among the saints next to the crucified Christ; a fresco painted by the Piacenza painter Luciano Ricchetti. 

 

by Umberto Battini
historian of S. Corrado 

This text was published in the Author's 2024 book "THE DOCUMENTS OF WORSHIP IN SAN CORRADO" and is reserved property
if you copy something cite the source

 

 

 

LIBRO DEL 2024

LA BELLEZZA DELLA VERITA' STORICA

NELLA ANTICA DEVOZIONE DEL BORGO

DI CALENDASCO A SAN CORRADO 

Prezioso e ricco di documentazione importante 

ACCESSI A QUESTO BLOG

GRAZIE AI LETTORI DI QUESTO BLOG

superati ampiamente i 210MILA accessi 

alcuni articoli storici, sono ora leggibili in più lingue, principalmente nella lingua Inglese, per maggior diffusione

 

buona estate a tutti ! 

 

THE LETTERS OF 1610

DOCUMENTARY HISTORY
THE LETTERS OF 1610

Saint Corrado Confalonieri
and the historical link between Piacenza and Noto

The three fact-finding letters sent by the Jurors of Noto in 1610
 
 
by Umberto Battini
     historian of S. Corrado 

 

particular of the signature

Since the distant Middle Ages of the 14th century, an uninterrupted line has run between the lands of Piacenza and Sicily: the noble soldier S. Corrado Confalonieri stops his clothes and pomp and, donning a gray tunic, sets out for holiness in the land that loved him most in life and death, the Ingenious Noto. 

But the relationships between the native land and the land of adoption, regarding the history and human and then spiritual valorization of the Holy Hermit, have developed over the centuries in relation to the unfolding events that led from Noto to the elevation of this virtuous man of faith to the altars.

In fact, based on current historical evidence, we must place the real rediscovery of this illustrious saint from Piacenza in the early 1600s, when, at the hands of the Elders of the city of Noto, the city of Piacenza was notified by sending three letters that arrived on 28 April 1611, one addressed to the person of the Duke Farnese, one to the Bishop and another letter to the Elders who had the government of the city, in the letter expressly asked for archival research on Saint Conrad. 

Even the Netini Elders themselves point out in these letters some historical data already in their possession, such as the fact that he had been married to a noblewoman from Lodi named Eufrosina who later became a Poor Clare nun and that he had been feudal lord of the Piacenza castle of Calendasco.

But it is this last statement made by the Netini Jurors that takes on a very important value for Corradian historiography. In fact, the Confalonieri family was feudal lords of Calendasco for several centuries, exercising dominion over this rich land attached to the Po River, northwest of Piacenza, from the mighty manor.  

image with AI created by UB

And that the Confalonieri family was among the preeminent of the city, while maintaining this feudal prerogative from the village, is evidenced by the fact that one of the four conspirators who killed Duke Pier Luigi Farnese, son of Pope Paul III, in 1547 was Giovanluigi Confalonieri himself, a feudal lord living in Calendasco, as shown by the documents of the Farnese confiscation concluded in 1586.

These events certainly did not help to ensure that the deeds of the Holy Hermit, beloved in Noto but also now throughout Sicily and the south, spread throughout his homeland, precisely because a distant great-grandson of his participated in this terrible event which all the major historians and politicians of that time dealt with. 

Proof of this is that only sixty years later and after the confiscation was concluded, with the expulsion of the offender forced to move to Milan, the Piacenza saint was finally made official and promoted in Piacenza too, we are precisely at the beginning of the 17th century.

Umberto Battini
historian of S. Corrado Confalonieri
 

THE TEXT ABOVE IS A SUMMARY OF A MORE SUBSTANTIAL WORK  

 

  

DAS GROSSE SCHLOSS VON CALENDASCO

IM SONNENLICHT
DAS IMPOSANTE HERRENHAUS AUS ROTEM STEIN

von Umberto Battini
Historiker von S. Corrado und Popularisierer

 

Feudalschloss Confalonieri, jetzt im Besitz der Gemeinde Calendasco (Piacenza)

Seit dem Mittelalter glänzt es neben der Kirche von Calendasco, die eine ältere Gründung hat, wie auch das älteste ist das Bistumsrecetto, später ebenfalls ein Feudalschloss der Confalonieri aus Piacenza sowie das Schloss.

Hier bewohnten die Adelsfamilie der Confalonieri, Militi vescovili, eine sehr wichtige Familie für den Teil der mittelalterlichen Kirche von Piacenza.
Im Schloss wurde 1290 ein Heiliger geboren: Corrado Confalonieri.

 

Die drei Denkmäler des Dorfes sind: das Schloss aus dem 13. Jahrhundert, dann der Eingang zur bischöflichen Gründung im 11. Jahrhundert, dann die Kirche, von der langobardische Dokumente aufbewahrt werden, die die Pfarrer jener Zeit zitieren. Und ein besonderes Denkmal, heute Privathaus, ist das mittelalterliche Krankenhaus Romitorio, das im Jahr 1315 unter den Franziskanern aufnahm, San Corrado Confalonieri.
Im Romitorio Pilgerkrankenhaus, auf der "strata romea", heute bekannt als Via Francigena, ist noch der Teil der Stiftung Longobarda sichtbar.
 

von Umberto Battini
Historiker von S. Corrado und Popularisierer 

 

 

 

LOOKING AT THE PICTURE OF SAN CORRADO

LOOKING AT THE PICTURE
OF SAN CORRADO IN CHURCH
IN CALENDASCO

by Umberto Battini
     historian of S. Corrado and popularizer

 

San Corrado 16th century painting

Sacred art, and any painting, expresses its own language, which must speak to the beholder.

This also happens with the painting from the early 17th century which is in the church in Calendasco di Piacenza: S. Corrado Confalonieri, a convert and thoughtful about his sins.

The right foot, resting naked on the raw, bare earth: here I was born, physically!
The left foot, resting naked on a bare stone, symbolizes the hermit cave of Noto!
And then the other symbols.
A very beautiful painting, to the eye and to the heart. 

Talk about the Patron. 

 

The Skull represents meditation on death, frustra, called "penance" to punish past sins, the holy rosary, the book of the Gospel. 

 

 

SOME RELEVANT QUESTIONS ON CALENDASCO CASTLE

SOME RELEVANT QUESTIONS
ON CALENDASCO CASTLE

There are sometimes very "curious" data circulating

Calendasco Castle photo UB

It is legitimate to ask "historical" questions about Calendasco Castle (not to be confused with the recetto).
In fact, there are truly "extensive" data circulating that some can even believe in good faith.
But is that really the case?

Question 1

Has the castle ever had 4 towers? Let's say clearly: no!
Yet this extremely false figure is circulating. 
The castrum as you see it has always had only one tower, cylindrical, next to the drawbridge.
But in some books, the data circulates, and some even today, with extreme ignorance, support it. To come to see is to believe: one tower only.

 

Question 2

Did it belong to other feudal lords before the Confalonieri?
First of all came the episcopal reception! Then the castle: have you seen the castle notarial deeds of anyone other than the Confalonieri?  
Some tips led us to check. A long time ago already.
Some misunderstanding of reading ancient notarial papers about the fact.  
It's not raining on the Confalonieri. Not even on the time of the birth of Saint Conrad (1290).
But this is not the place to give data, cards, of the fact!
Do not forget the Legate of 1617, notary of the Curia. 

Question 3

Some wrote that it was "destroyed at the base" by the Ghibellines of Piacenza in the 14th century.
Someone repeats it, so "copy and paste" to this day!  
But does this seem like a true historical fact to you? In your opinion was it really razed to the ground and destroyed? 
Here too we are not putting the answer now, but on the other hand in black and white in due course.
In the meantime, let's answer the "fact" of whether this happened or not, your intelligence.
 

Question 4

Did the Farnese have a hard hand with the Confalonieri of Calendasco? (Not from other places as we know). So also about the cult of San Corrado in Piacenza?
And this is because of Confalonieri, feudal lord and inhabitant and resident of Calendasco, who killed the son of Pope Paul III, Pierluigi Farnese, with others in the city of Piacenza in 1547? 
Unfortunately, the cult was stopped in Piacenza and its territory, until the expulsion, 40 years after the event, of the feudal Confalonieri of Calendasco. Paper in hand, from the originals. 

A historical answer exists. To every question. Just look for her! Sometimes you can't achieve the intent, then you have to use "historical intelligence" by connecting data and dates.

For concreteness, we will then provide data from each book, author, page, and year of publication where the many incorrect data are cited.

Umberto Battini
historical popularizer 

 

 

THE VIA FRANCIGENA ANCIENT ROAD

THE VIA FRANCIGENA ANCIENT ROAD
HISTORICAL AND MEDIEVAL

In Piacenza pilgrims were indicated as "Romei" also in notarial papers

 by Umberto Battini
      historical popularizer

historical monuments on the Francigena in Calendasco (Piacenza)

In the meantime, we must say "thank you" to the Lombards. For better or worse, we owe the classic layout of the route to them too.
At least in the also "famous" stretch of the Cisa Pass, with Berceto.
 
And so much will influence the Christian pilgrimage: also the ways, forms and places of medieval communal living.
You arrive in Emilia from Corte Sant'Andrea, on the Po in Lombardy, and disembark at Soprarivo di Calendasco.

And right in the village of Calendasco the surprises: a church and a castle built on a hill, there on the immense plain, and not far away an ancient medieval hospital. Hermitage and hospital for pilgrims, which is of Lombard foundation.
Which will also be the first place of "new life" of San Corrado Confalonieri since 1315, son of the local feudal lord. And he became the secular patron saint of the small village. 
In fact, upon his "conversion" after a tragic event, he retired to the small hospital run by lay Franciscan theriziar friars.
Even today, a small but important Lombard part of this ancient building, now privately owned, is visible.

The Via Francigena crosses this municipal territory, which slowly leads to the city: Piacenza is truly now "at the gates" from here.
And the daily leg can end.

Umberto Battini
historical popularizer
 
if you copy cite the source