UN CAVALLO DI POCO CONTO
RISARCITO DAL COMUNE DI PIACENZA
AD UN SERVO NEL 1219
articolo di Umberto Battini
dal quotidiano online ILPIACENZA.it
di domenica 20 settembre 2026
VISITE AL BLOG N. 299.000 se copi qualcosa cita la fonte per correttezza
20 settembre 2026
19 settembre 2026
ILMIOVIAGGIOAPO PROGETTO RIUSCITO
MOSTRA EVENTO E RACCOLTA FOTO VIDEO
UN PROGETTO CHE E' ORMAI UN TESORO DELLA MEMEORIA
E' un bel progetto quello de ILMIOVIAGGIOAPO che si staglia in più anni, andando a ritroso, per raccogliere video ed immagini del Po, del suo cambiamento stagionale, delle sue piene, piccole o grandi.
Un Archivio che raccoglie ormai centinaia, se non migliaia di foto e video relativi al Po, al tratto di circa 20 km di una sponda piacentina. Con incursioni anche su sponda Lombarda del Grande Fiume.
Tra foce Lambro, foce Tidone e foce Trebbia.
Interessante la Mostra Evento del 2023 sull'Antropocene Archeologia di Plastica, che si è tenuta a Calendasco sotto l'antico Portico del Romitorio ospitale francigeno, oggi di proprietà privata. Luogo importante per la storia del paese.
Per quella Mostra di oggetti , strambi, variplastici e ferrosi, rinvenuti nel Po in secca, che inquineranno le acque del fiume e le falde per centinai di anni, arrivò anche la Rai Tv per un servizio per il Telegiornale. Insomma un fatto importante, in ogni aspetto.
L'Archivio foto e video ed il Progetto ILMIOVIAGGIOAPO è realizzato da Umberto Battini, appassionato cultore del Grande Fiume e divulgatore storico.
NEWS IMPORTANTISSIME STORICHE
Dalla ricerca d'Archivio di Stato compiuta anni fa a Piacenza, Parma e Milano, nei documenti in copia dagli originali, archiviati e registrati nei mie studi e ricerca sul campo, ho rinvenuto molto materiale importantissimo sui Confalonieri, materiale dagli originali.
Averli ripresi in mano è stato cruciale, me ne ero quasi scordato, d'altra parte possiedo un archivio personale in copia di quando frequentavo assiduamente gli Archivi, di centinaia di pezzi notarili, in fotocopia e nel caso di pergamene, in fotografico.
LA PRIMA DAMNATIO MEMORIAE
ERA IL 1315 E A PIACENZA
DOMINAVA IL GHIBELLINO
GALEAZZO VISCONTI MILANESE
Nemico giurato dei Guelfi e delle sue Casate
compresi i Confalonieri
Dopo l'incendio ed il pagamento del danno, Corrado è in miseria, abbandonato dalla sua famiglia, feudataria di Calendasco, e riceve la sua prima Damnatio Memoriae cioè Dannazione della memoria, che significava essere cancellato dagli appartenenti alla famiglia.
Il dato storico racconta che la sua famiglia gli versò la sua parte di eredità, che Corrado usò appunto per estinguere il debito del danno.
I Confalonieri rimasero feudatari e capitani Militi vescovili in quel luogo.
immagine qui sotto creata con IA da U B - il castello è però quello originale visibile ancora oggi
THE LETTERS OF 1610
DOCUMENTARY HISTORY
THE LETTERS OF 1610
Saint Corrado Confalonieri
and the historical link between Piacenza and Noto
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
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| 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.
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.
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| 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.
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
THE BIRTH OF CORRADO
IN THE FIEFDOM OF THE CONFALONIERI
GUELPH SOLDIERS OF THE BISHOP OF PIACENZA
This is how we could imagine, adding a little romanticism, the birth in the castle of Calendasco of Corrado Confalonieri, from nobleman to hermit saint
In the background, as the landscape still appears today from the top of the manor tower, stands the large plain with the Po River to the north.
The Bishop of Piacenza places a fixed point on the birth date in 1617, who in the Legate Sancti Conradi, written by the curial and imperial notary, in the Bishop's Palace in Piacenza, at the behest of Count Landi, gives us this historical data.
GUELPH SOLDIERS OF THE BISHOP OF PIACENZA
This is how we could imagine, adding a little romanticism, the birth in the castle of Calendasco of Corrado Confalonieri, from nobleman to hermit saint
In the background, as the landscape still appears today from the top of the manor tower, stands the large plain with the Po River to the north.
The Bishop of Piacenza places a fixed point on the birth date in 1617, who in the Legate Sancti Conradi, written by the curial and imperial notary, in the Bishop's Palace in Piacenza, at the behest of Count Landi, gives us this historical data.
And all this happened after the Letters of the Administrators of the Sicilian City "the Jurors" arrived from Noto in 1610, asking for historical research and information on Saint Corrado, patron saint of the City of Noto for several centuries.
These historical data have been extensively studied and presented publicly, and published in some Books dedicated to S. Corrado.
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| IMAGE WITH AI created by UB |
20 ANNI FA GLI "INEDITI" CORRADIANI
UN LIBRO PREZIOSO
UNA FONTE STORICA
Il volume sarà ripresentato online su facebook in questo inizio autunno
18 settembre 2026
CALENDASCO DE SUPER PADO
CALENDASCO DE SUPER PADO
The fords according to historical documentation
by Umberto Battini
local history scholar and hagiographer of San Corrado Confalonier
The fords according to historical documentation
by Umberto Battini
local history scholar and hagiographer of San Corrado Confalonier
First of all, it must be said that studies on Kalendasco are and are continuing.
And indeed, new and important historical data have emerged that confirm two things: the Roman road leading to Pavia, the ancient Lombard and Frankish capital, had the river pass right in Calendasco, then Soprarivo also came.
And indeed, new and important historical data have emerged that confirm two things: the Roman road leading to Pavia, the ancient Lombard and Frankish capital, had the river pass right in Calendasco, then Soprarivo also came.
It was discovered in black and white that in addition to the well-known Soprarivo passage, the one opposite the town was also active; today we identify it with the locality of Masero, a few hundred meters from the village.
I must say that it is the oldest and most historic passage, dating back to the Lombard era, the one in the town, confirmed by Lombard parchments from the Milanese area.
Even the rights of passage of the river, the fishing rights on the Po and on the various waterways, on the mill canals and even on the wells are granted by Barbarossa: I'm still talking about the small port of the town!
In fact, as late as 1700 we know of the ports of Soprarivo, of the port of Botto which remains where the Masero is today, another passage was to the Mezzano and a ford was attested in Cotrebbia Vecchia.
Obviously we are citing the fords relating to this very specific area, which however, according to what has emerged, was strategically very interesting if Lombards, Franks and then even Barbarossa took the trouble over the centuries to maintain the rights of this passage next to the town of Kalendasco!
In short, there is something to be said, but I want to be brief and reserve the in-depth analysis and citations of the proceedings for a future study.
Happy francigena everyone!
Obviously we are citing the fords relating to this very specific area, which however, according to what has emerged, was strategically very interesting if Lombards, Franks and then even Barbarossa took the trouble over the centuries to maintain the rights of this passage next to the town of Kalendasco!
In short, there is something to be said, but I want to be brief and reserve the in-depth analysis and citations of the proceedings for a future study.
Happy francigena everyone!
Umberto Battini
local history scholar and hagiographer of San Corrado Confalonieri
local history scholar and hagiographer of San Corrado Confalonieri
IF COPI CITE SOURCE
SAN COLOMBANO TRAGITTO STORICO
UNA STRADA ANTICA
LA VIA DI SAN COLOMBANO
Da Pavia andava verso Bobbio
di Umberto Battini
studioso di storia locale e divulgatore storico
Tanti storici nel tempo ne hanno scritto e documentato ottimamente.
Rimane ovvio ribadire che San Colombano da Pavia puntava su Bobbio seguendo un itinerario stradale più comodo, breve.
Profuma di longobardi la Via degli Abati perchè è la Via ufficiale storicamente riconosciuta sulla quale ha camminato San Colombano, passo dopo passo, per giungere fino a Bobbio.
Pavia a quel tempo era la capitale del regno italico, e dominavano i longobardi che concessero a S. Colombano un sacco di terre presso Bobbio e proprio qui fu da allora edificato quel grandioso convento benedettino nel quale venne addirittura trascritto un testo passato alla storia: l’Editto di Rotari!
Il monaco irlandese arrivò a Pavia nel 612 e grazie a Teodolinda ottenne grandi benefici, come appunto i possessi immensi bobbiesi. Il Santo morì nel 615 e gli successero Sant’Attala e poi San Bertulfo: ecco da dove arriva il nome di Via degli Abati (che nei secoli furon tantissimi ovviamente).
Nell’Oltre Po pavese questo itinerario culturale è ben segnalato ma anche esistono ottimi libri di studi e materiale informativo su questo percorso per moderni pellegrini, insomma è una antica Via storica da non confondere con la Via Francigena, sarebbe un errore storico grossolano. Chi vuol "camminare" sui passi di San Colombano deve fare questo antico tracciato che tocca località collinari e montane ricche di storia.
Rimane ovvio ribadire che San Colombano da Pavia puntava su Bobbio seguendo un itinerario stradale più comodo, breve e a quel tempo già delineato per collegare la capitale longobarda a quelle montagne. La strada è anche conosciuta come Via di San Colombano e sul web potrete trovare indicazioni precise con il percorso diviso per tappe ed ottime mappe.
Da Pavia questo antico percorso immerso in un paesaggio mozzafiato, arriva a Spessa Po dove era il porticciolo e guado (oggi un moderno ponte) per immettersi verso Portalbera e quindi si scende verso Stradella da dove si inizia il percorso collinare che infine si addentra tra i monti ed arriva a Bobbio.
San Colombano riposa nella cripta dell’abbazia in questa piccola città che oggi è in provincia di Piacenza: questo è il percorso fatto storicamente dal Santo Irlandese e ancor oggi turisticamente consigliato.
nelle due immagini potete vedere l'itinerario della VIA DEGLI ABATI la storica strada che ha percorso San Colombano e tanti altri viaggiatori nei secoli.
17 settembre 2026
THE PROSERPINA PRIZE 17TH EDITION 2019
IN THE TOWN OF CARAVAGGIO
THE PROSERPINA PRIZE 17TH EDITION
DELIVERED ON APRIL 14, 2019 TO UMBERTO BATTINI
THE PROSERPINA PRIZE 17TH EDITION
DELIVERED ON APRIL 14, 2019 TO UMBERTO BATTINI
A prestigious award, presented in the Hall of Honor of the Municipality of Caravaggio 
PREMIO PROSERPINA 2019
NELLA CITTA' DI CARAVAGGIO
IL PREMIO PROSERPINA XVII EDIZIONE
CONSEGNATO IL 14 APRILE 2019 AD UMBERTO BATTINI
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