Crema, Italy

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = logo_comune.jpg
official_name = Comune di Crema
name = Crema
region = Lombardy
province = Cremona (CR)
elevation_m = 79
area_total_km2 = 34
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 32913
population_density_km2 = 968
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|45|22|N|9|41|E|display=inline,title
mapx=45.58
mapy=9.75
frazioni = Santo Stefano in Vairano, Santa Maria dei Mosi, Vergonzana
telephone = 0373
postalcode = 26013
gentilic =Cremaschi
saint = Saint Pantaleo
day = June 10
mayor = Bruno Bruttomesso (since May 28, 2007)
website = [http://www.comunecrema.it www.comunecrema.it]
Crema is a town in the province of Cremona, in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is built along the river Serio at 43 km from Cremona. It is also the seat of a Catholic Bishop. Crema's main economic activities traditionally relate to agriculture and cattle breeding, but Its manufactures include now cheese, iron products and cotton and wool textiles. Inhabitants are called "cremaschi", singular "cremasco".

History

Crema's origins has been linked to the Lombard invasion of 6th century CE, the name allegedly deriving from the Lombard term "Krem" meaning "little hill", though this is doubtful since it is not significantly above the surrounding countryside. Other roots may be older, in particular the Indo-European root meaning a boundary (cf. Ukraine, crêt). Other authorities put its foundation back to the 4th century CE, when Milan was capital of the Western Roman Empire. According to another version, it was instead an even more ancient Celtic or Etruscan settlement.

Crema first appears in historical documents in the 11th century, as a possession of the counts of Camisano. It was then ruled by Boniface, margrave of Tuscany, and his daughter Matilde. In 1098, Matilde gave the town as a gift to the Bishop of Cremona. During this period the prosperity of Crema's territory began as agriculture was boosted and the Humiliates' Order introduced the working of wool, which was to be the area's main economic activity till the 19th century.

In 1159, after it had made an alliance with Milan against the Ghibelline Cremona, Crema was besieged, stormed and destroyed by the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The siege of Crema was marked by several episode of brutality. The Germans hung some Cremaschi prisoners to their siege machines hoping the defenders would not fire against their fellows. However, this expedient did not work, and turned into a slaughter.

After the Peace of Constance (1185) the city was allowed to be rebuilt as a "castrum" ("castle"). Henry VI give it back to his allied Cremonese. A period as a free commune followed, in which however the tendency to partisan struggles, typical of the Northern Italy communes of that age, soon showed. In any case, the city was reinforced with new walls, ditches and gates (1199), and a network of canals further improved agriculture. In the 13th century Crema was also enriched with its famous Cathedral and the Palazzo Pretorio.

The communal autonomy ended in 1335, when the city surrendered to Gian Galeazzo Visconti, whose family held the city until the end of the century. In 1361 Crema was touched by the Black Death. A brief period of rule by the Guelph Benzoni family followed (Bartolomeo and Paolo from 1403 to 1405, then their nephew Giorgio until 1423). The seignory passed again to the Visconti, and, from 1449 onwards, to the Republic of Venice.

As a Venetian inland province, Crema obtained numerous privileges and was safe from the economic decline of the nearby Duchy of Milan under the Spanish rule. It kept a substantial autonomy, which permitted a program of new buildings. These included a new line of wall, the rebuilding of the Palazzo Comunale (1525-1533), the Palazzo della Notaria, now Palazzo Vescovile. In 1580 Crema became a diocese and built the new, splendid church of Santa Maria della Croce (1490).

The 17th century saw the beginning of the decadence of the city, caused by the fall of its industrial activities, although agriculture continued to flourish. In 1796 an Academy of Agriculture was founded. After the fall of the Most Serene Republic in 1797, the French army deposed the last podestà and created a municipality. At first Crema formed the province of Crema-Lodi, but later it was annexed to the province of Cremona. In 1814, Napoleon’s Empire fell apart, and Crema became an Austrian possession.

Crema was annexed to Italy in the Risorgimento. Thenceforth it was a part of the Italian Kingdom and, after World War II, of the Italian Republic.

Crema gave birth to many illustrious people: the painters Civerchio, Buso and Urbino; the musicians Petrali, Giovanni Bottesini, Benzi and Francesco Cavalli; the mathematician Giovanni Vailati; and the dialect poet Pesadori. It is also the birthplace of the journalist Beppe Severgnini who writes for the "Corriere della Sera" and "Gazzetta dello Sport", and worked for "The Economist" from 1993-2003.

According to documents held in the archives of the Diocese, Crema was also the town of origin of the Mastai Ferretti, the Senigallian family of Pope Pius IX.

Main sights

Crema's main monuments include:

* The "Duomo" (Cathedral) in Lombard-Gothic style, with a tall bell-tower completed in 1604
*The church of "Santa Maria della Croce" (St. Mary of the Cross) built in 1493–1500 by Giovanni Battagio
*The church of the "Santo Spirito" (16th century)
*The "Palazzo Comunale" ("Town Hall")
*The "Palazzo Pretorio"
*The "Palazzo Vescovile"

ister cities

*flagicon|France Melun, France since 2001