Last modified: 2020-07-26 by rob raeside
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The municipality of Abbiategrasso (31,401 inhabitants in 2009;
4,705 ha) is located in the Po valley, 20 km from Milan.
Settled by the Romans, subsequently invaded by the Lombards,
Abbiategrasso was fortified in 1044 by the Archbishop of Milan.
At the end of the 11th century, the town was protected by a wall
defended by four gates. Built in the late 12th century, the
"Navigium" (Great Canal) allowed irrigation and
trsnportation of goods and people to Milan, Ticino and Lake
Maggiore.
Successively ruled by the Visconti (1277-1450) and the Sforza
(1450-1535), Abbiategrasso was then transferred to the Spanish
(1535-1707) and Austrian (1707-1859) Habsburgs. In the second
half of the 19th century, industrialization boosted the
development of the town out of its historical center; the
railway, built in 1868, superseded the Great Canal as the main
way of transport.
Abbiategrasso is mostly known in French history as the place
where the famous Knight Bayard was killed on 30 April 1524 during
the retreat of the French troops.
The first known written form of Abbiategrasso is "Habiate
qui dicitur Grassus" (1024). "Habiate" is derived
from the Roman anthroponym Avius, while Grassus must emphasize
the fertility of the soil ("grasso", here,
"fertile").
Source: Municipal
website.
The gonfanon of Abbiategrasso is a shown on a photo taken on 28 November
2009 duringa meeting of the "Cittaslow" association
held in the town.
The gonfanon is blue with three tails and the municipal arms in
the middle, the shield being outlined in gold, surmonted by
"CITTA DE ABBIATEGRASSO" in golden letters.
Source: <www.cittaslow.net>.
The arms of Abbiategrasso are "Azure a crowned lion or
langued gules. The shield crowned with a five-tower mural crown
and flanked by branches of laurel and oak.
The oldest known arms of the town, dating back to the 15th
century, show St. Peter holding a shield charged with a lion
rampant gules. A tombstone from the 17th century bears arms with
the crowned lion and the writing "Regia Abbiategrassi
communitas", refering to the Spanish rule over the place.
The mural crown and the writing surmonting the arms recall that
Abbiategrasso was awarded the honorary title of
"città" (town) on 31 March 1932.
Source: Municipal
website.
Ivan Sache, 11 January 2010
image from <www.eventiesagre.it>