Comune Paderna

piazza Castello, 1 - 15050 Paderna (AL)
Tel. +39 (0131) 830.128
E-mail: comunedipaderna@libero.it
http://www.comune.paderna.al.it

Paderna is a small agricultural municipality located between the Cornigliasca and Castellania rivers, on the hills that slope down toward Tortona on the right bank of the middle Scrivia Valley.
The name, of Ligurian origin, means "other bank of the pines" (where padus stands for pine, not to be confused with Padus, Po, or any other watercourse), and indeed the town enjoys a panoramic position, on a spur of land jutting out from the overlying hill, surrounded on three sides by a bank.
The town is located ten kilometers southeast of Tortona, and was founded by the people of Tortona: the first mention of it dates back to 1155, when the Montemerlo family, lords of the place, rushed with their men to defend Tortona, which was besieged by Barbarossa. The origins of the village, however, are thought to lie in a previous location, located between Paderna and nearby Spineto, called Bosilio, mentioned in a 10th-century donation. The remains of its church and cemetery can still be seen in the arable fields.
It later became a fiefdom of the Spinola family, and later owned by the Carbone family, except for a brief period, between 1676 and 1688, when the inhabitants obtained redemption of the fief.
Paderna experienced the plague described by Manzoni, which caused 153 deaths in 1630.

What to see:
The Pieve di Vezzano with its ancient bell tower.
The parish church of San Giorgio, whose current structure has three naves (the smaller side naves were added between the 13th and 14th centuries).
The bell tower was built in 1889 based on a design by engineer Bruno (the same engineer who designed the façade of Tortona Cathedral).
Piazza Castello, where the Town Hall is located.
The road that descends from Paderna towards Spineto, offering a beautiful view of the Tortona plain.