Lost in time Cascine San Pietro whispers secrets. This seemingly quiet village holds centuries of history. Its name itself a journey. Once known as Bergias then Cascine Franche. Finally settling on Cascine San Pietro.
The story of Cascine San Pietro begins long ago. A testament from 774 reveals a church. San Pietro in Bergias stood tall. It owned land. A piece of domusculta belonged to the church. This land lay between the Pasco Bergario and the Terriola river.
Centuries passed. By 960 the Count of Lecco owned Bergias. He gave it to the Bishop of Cremona. A testament from 1152 shows the church’s wealth. Two moggia of rye was its yearly income. The village belonged to Cassano’s castle.
By 1323 a toll was charged. People paid to cross the Adda River’s bridge. The name changed. Cascine Franche replaced Bergias. The village seemed free from Cassano’s bridge and port tolls.
The Duke of Milan Giovanni Maria Visconti owned Cascine Franche. In 1411 he sold the land beyond the Adda. The sale included port rights and exemptions. Cascine Franche included La Lega La Porra La Brusada and La Gabanna. Antonio Levato rented Cascine Franche in 1504. Its size was 200 perches.
The D’Adda family bought land beyond the Adda. They inherited previous owners’ exemptions. They wanted Cascine San Pietro independent from Cassano. Cassano tried to revoke the exemptions. They succeeded in 1640. In 1599 Cascine San Pietro had 100 inhabitants. The D’Adda family owned many cascine. Lega Porra Brusada Gabana Taranta Cantarana and Cornella. In 1615 they built a church. It measured 19 meters long. It had a sacristy and a chaplain’s house. They asked for an independent parish. In 1645 the village had 250 people.
In 1705 fighting occurred near Cascine San Pietro. Germans and French battled. The D’Adda family got Cascine San Pietro its own commune in 1708. In 1758 they asked for separation from Cassano. In 1786 Cascine San Pietro had 385 inhabitants. It joined Lodi province then Milan’s in 1791.
In 1799 Austro-Russian troops invaded. Suvorov led them against the French in Cassano. Napoleon’s government merged Cascine San Pietro with Cassano in 1809. Cascine San Pietro had 420 people. The Austrians restored the municipality in 1816. Later they merged the communes again in 1841.
The Borromeo family owned the land. They built the Belvignate and Lina farmhouses. The Bagatti-Valsecchi family followed. They sold the land to the farmers. In 1955 they gave a house and garden to the Cremona bishopric. The cascine emptied. People became factory workers. Immigration mixed cultures. In 1981 Cascine San Pietro became a parish. It included families in Bergamo territory.
Today Cascine San Pietro blends old cascine and modern houses. It has apartments and scattered farmhouses. The village is self-sufficient. It has social school and religious services. The local dialect is unique. It mixes Cassano and Bergamo influences. In 2011 the BreBeMi highway’s construction revealed Lombard tombs. They dated from the 6th century.