This small town of poor farmers came under the spotlight when Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who was born here in 1881, was elected Pope (1958-1963).
The town, which was completely transformed, offers tours of the house where Pope John XXIII was born and a museum. A short distance away, on the slopes of Mount Canto, lies the Romanesque Fontanella Abbey, dating back to the eleventh century.
An old mule track leads from the abbey up the hill, connecting it with the adjacent San Martino Valley and another famous abbey: Pontida. It was here, among the Benedictine community, that on 7 April 1167, representatives of the Lega Lombarda (Lombard League) cities gathered and solemnly swore to defend their freedom against the Emperor Federico Barbarossa.
This small town of poor farmers came under the spotlight when Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, who was born here in 1881, was elected Pope (1958-1963).
The town, which was completely transformed, offers tours of the house where Pope John XXIII was born and a museum. A short distance away, on the slopes of Mount Canto, lies the Romanesque Fontanella Abbey, dating back to the eleventh century.
An old mule track leads from the abbey up the hill, connecting it with the adjacent San Martino Valley and another famous abbey: Pontida. It was here, among the Benedictine community, that on 7 April 1167, representatives of the Lega Lombarda (Lombard League) cities gathered and solemnly swore to defend their freedom against the Emperor Federico Barbarossa.
