Parabiago

Parabiago
Comune
Città di Parabiago
From top, clockwise: Villa Ida Lampugnani-Gajo, ornamental tower in a lombard court, a roggia with the "Madonna di Dio il Sà" church in the background, via San Michele with the church of San Michele in the background.
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): The City of Footwear
Parabiago Location of Parabiago in Italy
Coordinates: 45°33′N 08°57′E / 45.550°N 8.950°E / 45.550; 8.950Coordinates: 45°33′N 08°57′E / 45.550°N 8.950°E / 45.550; 8.950
Country	Italy
Region	Lombardy
Government
• Mayor	Franco Borghi (PdL)
Area
• Total	14.16 km2 (5.47 sq mi)
Elevation	184 m (604 ft)
Population (31 December 2007)
• Total	27,298
• Density	1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Parabiaghesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	20015
Dialing code	0331 (Busto Arsizio Code)
Patron saint	St. Gervasius and Protasius
Saint day	19 June
Website	Official website

Parabiago is a town located in the north-western part of the City of Milan, Italy.

The town is crossed by the road to Sempione (S.S.33) and Milan  – Gallarate Railway; nearby flow the Olona river and the Canale Villoresi.

Its demonym in Italian is parabiaghese in the masculine and feminine singular and parabiaghesi in the plural. In the local Insubric dialect it is parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the masculine singular, parabiaghësa or parabiagœsa in the feminine singular, and parabiaghës or parabiagœs in the plural for both genders.

Parabiago has ancient origins: starting from the first celtic-insubrian settlement (4th century B.C.), it developed during the Roman Empire rule, as documented by various archaeological discoveries of little objects, as the famous Parabiago Patera, a wonderful silver plate probably used to cover an ashes urn.

In the Early Middle Ages, Parabiago was the centre of a parish (pieve) and of an autonomous county, named Comitatus Parabiagi and sometimes Burgaria, governed by the Sanbonifacio family, of frank descent, coming from Verona; in the 7th century, its importance took the lombard Queen Theodelinda, to give permission for a little artificial stream, named Riale or Röngia, which took water from the Olona river and travelled through the village: that stream lasted until the 1928, when it was definitively stilted up.

During the Late Middle Ages, the town was the set of some lombardian events. The Truce of Parabiago (28 – 29 August 1257) led to the Pace di Sant'Ambrogio (Saint Ambrose's Peace), so called because it was signed in the homonymous Basilica in Milan). It put an end to the risk of a civil war between nobles and people in the Commune of Milan.
On 21 February 1339, occurred the Battle of Parabiago between Lodrisio Visconti, with his army named Compagnia di San Giorgio (Saint George's Company), and Luchino Visconti with his nephew Azzone, for the dominion over the Duchy of Milan; the battle was won by the Milanese regular army; according to tradition, this happened thanks to the miraculous apparition of Saint Ambrose. During this time, the Crivelli family inherited from the Sanbonifacio family the County of Parabiago, perhaps still corresponding with the Burgaria County.