Abbiategrasso

Comune in Lombardy, Italy

Abbiategrasso Biegrass (Lombard)
Comune
Comune di Abbiategrasso
Visconti Castle.
Coat of arms
Abbiategrasso within the Province of Milan
Location of Abbiategrasso
45°24′N 08°55′E / 45.400°N 8.917°E / 45.400; 8.917
Country	Italy
Region	Lombardy
Metropolitan city	Milan (MI)
Government
• Mayor	Francesco Cesare Nai
Area ^[1]
• Total	47.78 km² (18.45 sq mi)
Elevation	120 m (390 ft)
Population (30 November 2017)^[2]
• Total	32,784
• Density	690/km² (1,800/sq mi)
Demonym	Abbiatensi
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	20081
Dialing code	02
Patron saint	Saint Rose of Lima
Saint day	23 August
Website	Official website

Abbiategrasso, formerly written Abbiate Grasso^[3] (local Lombard: Biegrass [bjeˈɡras]; Milanese: Biaa [ˈbjaː]), is a comune and town in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy, situated in the Po valley approximately 22 kilometres (14 miles) from Milan and 38 kilometres (24 miles) from Pavia.

History

The town dates from Roman times. Its name indicates that it was part of a territory known as "'the fertile valley": a document of 1304 referring to the Habiate qui dicitur Grasso, a title that gradually transformed into Abbiategrasso.

Abbiategrasso received the honorary title of city with a royal decree of 31 March 1932.

Main sights

The Visconti Castle (Italian: Castello Visconteo), built in 1382 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti above a pre-existing 13th-century fortification. It was enlarged and decorated by Filippo Maria Visconti after 1438. It has a quadrangular plan with angular towers, and the interior has Renaissance frescoes and graffiti. The central court has a portico.
Basilica church of Santa Maria Nuova, built in 1388 to celebrate the birth of Gian Galeazzo Visconti's son. It is preceded by a Renaissance portico and as an unfinished façade (1497), whose pronaos is attributed to Donato Bramante.
Baroque church of San Bernardino (17th century)
15th century Casa Albini

Twin towns

Abbiategrasso is twinned with the following towns:

Ellwangen, Germany
Langres, France

People

Christian Abbiati, footballer
Gianni Giudici, racing driver
Franco Moschino, fashion designer
Giuseppina Tuissi, partisan during World War II
Marco Villa, road and track cyclist

References

^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
^ Population from Istat
^ "Abbiate Grasso" , Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., vol. Vol. I, 1878, p. 22 .