Castiglione delle Stiviere

Archaeological evidence refers the origins of Castiglione delle Stiviere to the Bronze Age, while a tomb dating back to the Iron Age documents the Celtic presence. The Orobii Gauls and the Etruscans lived in this place, to which the discovery of a ritual site coinciding with ancient tanks found in the basement of the convent of Santa Maria is linked, which also revealed the structures of a Roman villa with mosaic floors and thermal structures . The first written documents relating to Castiglione delle Stiviere can be traced back to the Lombard dukes Aurinando and Godefrido: these testimonies echo the memory of the places, landscapes and roads that Charlemagne traveled in the 19th century on his journey to Rome. Of probable Etruscan origin, Castiglione delle Stiviere was subject to barbarian invasions and Lombard domination and, due to its strategic position, a garrison disputed between the Gonzaga, Visconti and Scaligeri families during the period of the Lordships. In 1511 it became part of the Marquisate of Castel Goffredo, Castiglione and Solferino until 1559, when it acquired the status of an autonomous fiefdom with the Marquis Ferrante Gonzaga. In 1568, San Luigi Gonzaga, the world’s patron saint of youth, was born in Castiglione. There are numerous places linked to the figure of the Saint: the College of the Noble Virgins of Jesus, founded by the granddaughters of Saint Louis in 1608, now home to the Aloisiano Historical Museum; Palazzo Comunale, former Jesuit college; Prince’s Palace and Castle; basilica of S. Sebastiano and convent of S. Maria. There is also an active pilgrimage route to the Aloisian places. Two episodes of the War of the Spanish Succession took place in Castiglione, in 1702 and 1706, the year in which the French troops destroyed the fortified castle. During Napoleon Bonaparte’s first Italian campaign, it gave its name to the battle that broke out on 5 August 1796. Austrian rule here lasted until the bloody battle of Solferino and San Martino (1859), an event that marked the history of the Risorgimento and who inspired Henry Dunant in the creation of the International Red Cross. After the Second War of Independence, Castiglione was included in the province of Brescia, becoming the capital of the district. In 1866, with the Third War of Independence, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, becoming part of the territory of the province of Mantua. In 2001 it obtained the title of city.