Pavia

a city in northern Italy, in Lombardy, on the Ticino River. Capital of the province of Pavia. Population, 86,800 (1971). Industries in Pavia manufacture sewing machines, machine tools, turbines, agricultural machinery and equipment, radio-electronic equipment, and synthetic fibers. Pavia also has oil-refining, garment, furniture, and food-processing industries. The city has a university, which was founded in 1390.

Pavia has retained its medieval aspect. It has numerous Romanesque structures, including the Basilica of San Michele (1117–55). Other buildings include the Gothic Visconti castle (1360–65), a Renaissance cathedral (1488–92; architects included G. A. Amadeo, D. Bramante, and G. G. Dolcebueno; 19th-century facade), and the church of Santa Maria di Canepanova (end of 15th century, architect G. A. Amadeo). There is a museum in the Visconti castle; other museums include the Malaspina Art Gallery and the Certosa Museum. Nearby is the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery begun in 1396 (early Renaissance facade of church begun in 1473; architects included G. A. Amadeo).

On Feb. 24, 1525, during the Italian Wars of 1494–1559, there was a battle at Pavia between the mercenary armies of France and the Hapsburg Empire. In 1524 troops of the French king Francis I (approximately 20,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, 53 guns) crossed the Alps, occupied Milan, and, in October, laid siege to Pavia, which had a garrison of approximately 7,000 German lansquenets and 700 Spanish soldiers. At the beginning of February 1525, imperial troops commanded by General Pescara (approximately 20,000 infantry, 2,500 cavalry) arrived to raise the siege. The imperial troops launched a sudden attack against the French, who by using their units piecemeal gave the imperial troops numerical superiority. The imperial infantry was armed with a perfected weapon, the musket, the bullets of which penetrated a knight’s armor. These factors led to the defeat of the French Army, which lost 10,000 men. Francis I was taken prisoner and was compelled by the Treaty of Madrid of 1526 to renounce his conquests in Italy. It was at this time, when the musket “took on decisive significance for the struggle with heavy cavalry” (F. Engels in K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 14, p. 30), that important changes in tactics were made and that musket units appeared.