PAUNTON. [LtecoLastilar..) l'AVIA, a province in Austrian Italy, is bounded N. by the Ililanese, E. by Lodi, W. by Sardinia, from which it is separated by the Ticino, and S. by Sardiula and Parma, being divided from both by the Po. It Is one of the most fertile provinces in Lombardy, lying entirely In the fine plain of the I'o. It produces corn, wine, fruit, hemp, and has good pasture land. The length from north-west to south east Is about 40 miles, the breadth about 10 miles. The area is 400 square miles, and the population in 1831 amounted to 171,622. Tha province Is divided into eight districts), and 193 communes. Two navigable duals, the Navigilta0mnde and the Naviglio-di-Pavia cross the provinse, and supply water communication between Milan and the Lago-Magglole, the Ticino and Po, and by the latter river with the Adriatic.
The capital is Paris, a well-built walled city of about 28,000 inhabitants, situated on the left batik of the Ticino, a few miles above its junction with the I'o, and 20 miles S. from Milan. A handsome covered bridge over tha river connects Pavia with the suburb. of Remo-Ticino, on the right bank. The cathedral, which is a modern structure, was rebuilt in the last century; it contains tome good painting& The oldest church in Pavia, and perhaps in Italy, is that of Ban-Michele, which it is asserted will built in the 6th century. Several old and curious hasso-rilievoa adorn this church, as well as some frescoes of the age of (Bette. The vast church Del-Carmine, which was built in the 14th century, contains some valuable paintings. That of Santa-Maria-Coronata was built by Bramante, and is also rich in paintings. The once handsome church of Saa-Pietro Cielo
d'Oro,' noticed by Dante (` Paradise,' x.), was not long ago used as a military storehouse.
Pavia is chiefly known for its university, which was founded by Charlemagne and contains 13 colleges. It has faculties of law, medicine, and philosophy, attended by an aggregate of above 1000 students. Pavia has long been renowned for its medical and surgical instruction. A valuable library of 150,000 volumes, a Mime= of natural history, a cabinet of anatoiny, and a botanical garden are annexed to the university. Three colleges, Caccia, Borromeo, and Ghislieri, the first two founded by the noble families of those names, and the third by Pope Pius V., support about 120 students gratuitously. The college Borromeo is a magnificent building. Pavia gives title to a bishop; it has a large hospital, a gymnasium, a theatre, a foundling hospital, and other benevolent institutions. The chief trade of the town is in silk, wine, rice, and Partnesah cheese.
Pavia occupies the site of the ancient Ticinuee, which was a town of Cisalpioe Gaul: little mention is made of it in Roman history. The Lombard kings resided in Pavia; their old castle still remains. Near Pavia Francis I. was defeated and taken prisoner by Charles V. in 1525. Five miles from Pavia, on the road to Milan, is the Certasa, et splendid Carthusiau monastery, now suppressed. It was built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, duke of Milan, whose Monument Is in the church : the church is rich in sculptures, marble, and fresco paiutings.