Cilavegna (; Western Lombard: Silavégna) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, at about 45 km southwest of Milan and about 35 km northwest of Pavia. It has 5440 inhabitants.
Cilavegna has had an ancient agricultural tradition since the times of the Romans, when it produced wine; nowadays pink asparagus is the most important crop.
In the first decade of the 20th century an industrial center sprang up not far from the city center. The first historical document specifically about the town is the concession of Berengar I, which is not dated, but is certainly from after 25 December 915, when he was crowned at Rome.
Cilavegna is mentioned in the psychological novel Ipotesi di cacciatore by Gregorio Ponci, in which the protagonist's family, with the last name Viscardo, traces its roots back to the 18th century in Cilavegna, also referred to as Cilavinnis, Cellavegna, Celavegno.
Etymology
One hypothesis sees "Cilavegna" as composed of two words: the first is thought to be "cell", meaning a "deposit of military rations", or a typical Roman encampment along the roads of the Empire; the second, "venga," refers to an old agricultural practice in the area: cultivating grapes, or vines.
This hypothesis can be confirmed thanks to a historical concession made by Berengar I, presumably between the years 911 and 915, which uses the name Cilavinnis, very close to the Latin "vinea" or "vinum."
The process that through the years has led to the recent "Cilavegna" is due mostly to local dialects, from the progressive addition of the "g" in the last syllable and the variation between the masculine and feminine forms: "Celavegna" in 1164; "Cellavegna" in 1181, 1220, and 1250; "Cillavegna" also in 1181; "Celavegno" in the 12th century; and "Cellavigna" in 1219.
Analyzing the name's evolution through time, it can be seen that it is slowly progressing toward the words "cella" and "vinea," possibly confirming the Roman origins of the name; in what the name means now in Italian, "deposit near the vineyards," one finds a similar meaning to the supposed Latin original.
History
The land around Cilavegna has been inhabited since the Mesolithic, but the oldest findings, from tombs of the Bronze Age, date back to 1300 B.C., when a series of conquests in the area were begun, by the [Laevi], the Galls, and then the Romans. The Romans controlled Cisalpine Gaul beginning in the first century B.C. and transformed the viability and usefulness of the region by building a network of roads that streamlined the long movements of armies toward central Europe. At this time many encampments were made with the simple purpose of supplying soldiers with provisions: one of these "castrum" was called "cells ad vineas," today Cilavegna, which occupies the strategic position between the Gaul and Vercellae (Vercelli) roads.
After the Lombard's conquest of northern and central Italy Cilavegna was the seat of a judge (or Gastald), subject to the supervision of the duke, while, after the conquests of Charlemagne, the city became a possession of the counts of Lomello. At this point the local castle was likely built, since in the 10th century, after the concession of Berengar I, it was on the front-line of defence against Magyar raids. After, many different families bought the city as feudal property. Notable were the Beccaria, the Castelbarco, and the Maletta families, and the Maletta, ultimately, ceded the town to Vercellino Visconti, who, with the annexations of the duke of Milan, was replaced with the rule of the Atellani family.
Then it fell under Taverna rule (1636–1798), which lasted until the collapse of feudalism, when Lombardy became a part of the Cisalpine Republic and then of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. At this time Cilavegna officially became a commune, and in 1818 it joined the province of Vigevanasco and after the Kingdom of Italy, beginning a policy of industrialization which would help the city flourish between the late 1800s and the first half the 1900s.
Numerous companies were started, but Ca.Gi is best remembered, a testament to the citizens’ typical antifascism, as in 1944 workers went on strike in support of the Committee for the Liberation of Upper Italy. The people had many other experiences in resisting fascism during the war, and now victims of the twenty years of fascism in Italy, are commemorated by a number of monuments.