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Pavia Province
Pavia is one of the larger provinces in the Lombardy
Region of Northern Italy. It occupies the very southwestern
tip of the region and is home to nearly half-a-million
people.
Like most of the surrounding area, it has been part
of several countries, duchies, empires, kingdoms and
confederations over the course of the last several thousand
years.
It has several lush valleys surrounded by mountains
to the north and rolling hills along its large plain.
As such, Pavia is very agricultural, being a leading
producer of rice, dairy products (such as the famous
gorgonzola cheese), and cereal grains.
The capital city of the province, Pavia, is just slightly
larger than several other cities in the province. It
was known in Roman times as the city of Ticinum, due
to its location on the Ticino River. It was once the
capital of the Lombard Kingdom, and remained an important
defensive position until taken and partially destroyed
by Charlemagne in the 8th century. Today, the capital
city, as well as several of the larger towns in the
area, is an important centre for processing the agricultural
bounty of the province.
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