Voghera is a city with a rich past, dating back to the time of the Roman Empire. Known in ancient times as Iria, Voghera is rooted in a millennial history that has shaped not only its name but also its cultural and urban identity.
Voghera‘s origins date back to 44 B.C., when the Romans founded a colony in the area, christening it Iria. This new city was desired by Julius Caesar as a military colony, a status that entailed not only riches and privileges, but also the construction of roads, palaces and other infrastructure necessary to support the growth of a strategically positioned settlement. Indeed, Iria was located at the crossroads of important communication routes connecting Liguria, Piedmont, Emilia and Lombardy, with the Via Postumia serving as the main artery for trade and military movements.
While Iria‘s strategic position gave it economic and military importance, it also made it vulnerable to attack by barbarian populations. In the centuries following its foundation, the city suffered repeated raids that undermined its stability and eventually forced the population to flee. The barbarians, attracted by Iria‘s wealth and strategic importance, sacked it several times, devastating it and reducing it to a heap of rubble.
This period marked a period of deep crisis for the city, which lost much of its population and splendour. The inhabitants, in order to escape destruction, took refuge along the banks of the river Iria, where they established a small settlement, now far removed from Iria‘s original grandeur. What was once a flourishing Roman city was reduced to a simple vicus, a village, which gradually took the name Vicum Iriae.
The transformation from Iria to Voghera is a long and complex journey, reflecting the many influences and historical changes that have passed through the region. As early as 626, in the accounts of the life of Saint Columbanus written by the monk Jonah of Bobbio, reference is made to this settlement as Vicum Iriae. Over the following centuries, the name of the town continued to evolve, adapting to the various dominations and linguistic influences. Among the toponyms that followed, we find Vichiera and Viqueria, which testify to the gradual transition from the Roman name to its modern form.
It was only with the passage of time and the stabilisation of the region that the settlement resumed growth and development, eventually becoming the town we know today as Voghera. Despite destruction and reconstruction, Iria‘s legacy has remained imprinted in the urban fabric and in the collective memory of its inhabitants.
Even today, the citizens of Voghera can be called iriensi, a term that brings to light the ancient glory of this noble Roman city.
Today, Voghera retains many traces of its glorious past, with a historical and cultural heritage rooted in the centuries. Archaeological remains, ancient churches and historical buildings testify to the town‘s long and varied history. The Cathedral of St. Lawrence, for example, is one of the most important religious buildings, dating back to the 17th century, which stands on an earlier medieval church.
The city walls, although partly disappeared, tell of a time when Voghera was an important defensive fortress, protecting its inhabitants from outside incursions. The Castello Visconteo, although now a private building, is another symbol of the historical power of the town, built in the 14th century by the Visconti family that dominated Lombardy.
