www.visitapavia.it | Voghera and Oltrepò

Originally called Iria, thanks to its geographical position, in the Roman era was an important commercial centre which Julius Caesar chose as a market. It later became a route of passage for the pilgrims headed from France to Rome and the Holy Land (along the Via Francigena). Ravaged by barbaric invasions, at the end of the 6th century it went back to being a village under the name of Vicus (village) and then Viqueria. In 572, it fell under the rule of the Lombard Kingdom until 774 when it passed under the reign of Charles the Great. It was controlled by the Visconti and then the Sforza family and then under foreign rule (Spanish, French and Austrian). It is the heart of the Oltrepò Pavese area, an important railroad link and famous for its wines and vineyards.