Crema, Italy

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 79 m. over sea level and at 43 km from Cremona. It has about 40,000 inhabitants, and is also the seat of a Catholic Bishop. Its main economic activities relate traditionally to agriculture and cattle breeding, but Its manufactures include now cheese, iron products and cotton and wool textiles.

History

Of ancient foundation, Crema during the eleventh century was a possession of the counts of Camisano. It was then ruled by Bonifacius marquis of Tuscany and his doughter Matilde, who in 1098 gave the town as a gift to the Bishop of Cremona. In 1159, after it had made an alliance with Milan against Cremona, it was besieged, stormed and destroyed by the Emperor Barbarossa (Frederick Redbeard). It was re-built in 1185 and given by Henry IV to the Cremonese. After a period as a free commune, it fell into the hands first of the Benzoni, then of the Visconti and finally of Venice, whose rule (except for a brief interval) lasted until 1797.

Related Topics:
Tuscany - 1098 - 1159 - Milan - Barbarossa - 1185 - Henry IV - Visconti - Venice - 1797

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Crema gave birth to many illustrious people: the painters Civerchio, Buso and Urbino; the musicians Petrali, Bottesini, Benzi and Cavalli; the mathematician Vailati and the poet Pesadori.

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

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