The miserable Citade. Pavia besieged 1522-1527

The exhibition presents a crescendo of events starting from 1522, with its peak in 1525 and the epilogue of the sack of Pavia in 1527

EXHIBITION PATH

The exhibition presents a crescendo of events starting from 1522, with its peak in 1525 and the epilogue of the sack of Pavia in 1527.

The daily life of the people of Pavia is told through the direct testimonies of ordinary people . A small sample of the documentary types preserved in the fund of the Historical Archives of the Municipality of Pavia is exhibited, consisting of letters, cries, proclamations by Antonio De Leyva, Francesco II Sforza, the Deputies of the Provision regarding questions of all kinds: the payment of civil and military taxes, the export and import of provisions and merchandise, public safety. Other cries and proclamations come from the health magistrate and the health deputies of Pavia for the prevention and circumscription of epidemics, suspending any kind of exchange with the infected regions and prohibiting the entry into the city of people and animals suspected of contagion.

Most of the documents concern the management of military housing. In fact, since the fifteenth century Pavia has hosted an important garrison in the Visconti Castle. The supreme body of the city administration, the office of Provision, has the burden of providing for the maintenance of soldiers and officers and, in times of war, takes care of the logistical aspects. After the arrival of more complex occupying armies, such as the French first and then the Spanish, Pavia found itself having to house and maintain such a large garrison that the Castle was no longer enough to accommodate it. Within the Provision Office, a specific body for military affairs called the Housing Office was then created. One of its deputies must identify the housing to rent from private individuals or convents, take care of its maintenance and assignment to the military.

Parchments and seals of Charles V, recently restored, will also be exhibited.

FREE ADMISSION

HOW TO GET THERE

Santa Maria Gualtieri, Piazza della Vittoria, 4

Bus Autoguidovie:
Urban Lines 1,3C,6,10 – stop STRADA NUOVA/ITALIA
For info and timetables HERE

For info: archiviostorico@comune.pv.it

Phone 0382.399812