Piacenza

Tower of the Romanesque castle of Piacenza, Italy. The tower, with its massive stonework and tiny openings, is typical of 12th-century fortified construction. The crenellations of the battlements provided protection for archers, while machicolations (projecting galleries) enabled missiles or hot lead to be dropped on attacking troops.

The remains of a 1st century mill or press among the ruins of the old city of Velleia, in Piacenza province, Italy. Velleia lies in a fairly remote area about 32 km/20 mi south of modern Piacenza, and is the site of a usefully productive oil well.

Industrial town in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, on the River Po, 65 km/40 mi southeast of Milan; population (1992) 102,200. Products include agricultural machinery, textiles, and pottery. Piacenza dates from 218 BC and has a 12th-century cathedral.

In about 200 BC the town was sacked by the Gauls. In 1545 it was united with Parma. During the War of the Austrian Succession the Austrians defeated a Franco-Spanish army here in 1746.

The town is laid out to a regular design, and has many historic buildings, including several palaces. The cathedral, in Lombard-Romanesque style, has curious and grotesque internal decorations. Piacenza's town hall, ‘Il Gotico’, dates from 1280.

Piacenza

Province of north central Italy in northwest Emilia-Romagna region; capital Piacenza; area 2,589 sq km/1,000 sq mi; population (2000 est) 266,100.