An ancient and historically significant family, famous for producing, from the thirteenth century onwards, many brave and capable warriors, in the service first of the Visconti and then of the Sforza.  In 1356 Luchino Dal Verme, a soldier famous in his time for his ability, prudence and courage, occupied Pavia for the Visconti.  Even more famous is his son Jacopo, vanquisher of the Duke of Armagnac at the battle of Alessandria in May 1391, an event recalled in Ludovico Ariosto’s epic poem L’Orlando Furioso.  Luigi, Jacopo’s son and likewise a soldier, received from the Dukes of Milan various fiefs now part of the Oltrepò Pavese: Voghera, Zavattarello, Ruinon, Fortunago, Corte Brugatella, Pietragavina and Bobbio.  With the latter the Dal Verme enjoyed a long and important relationship, since Bobbio, with its extensive territory and many major settlements, was practically a state.  This polity disappeared only with the end of feudalism.

            Amongst the many other notable Dal Verme we remember in particular Francesco Vitaliano, who traveled to the United States where he befriended George Washington.  In the nineteenth century the family saw a revival of its military tradition, thanks to General Luchino Dal Verme.  Second Lieutenant of the Granatieri di Sardegna in 1859, he took part in the campaign against Austria of that same year and in the following one fought in central-southern Italy, earning the Medaglia d’Argento al Valor Militare (the Italian equivalent of the US Distinguished Service Cross).   Transferred to the staff of the Italian General Headquarters in 1861, he taught at the military academy of Modena and took part in the Italo-Austrian war of 1866, obtaining a second Medaglia d’Argento.  In 1882 as full Colonel he commanded the 60^th infantry regiment, and eight years later, now a Major General, he lead the infantry brigades Pinerolo and Umbria.  Promoted to Lieutenant General in 1896, he presided over the “Supreme Court of War and the Navy”; the same year became briefly Undersecretary of State for war under General Ercole Ricotti and Prime Minister Antonio Starabba di Rudinì.  After that he commanded the military divisions of Naples and Novara.  His public activities, however, were not confined to the army, serving also as Member of Parliament for Pavia (1890-1892), and Bobbio (1892-1894 and 1904-1909).  General Dal Verme also drew up a plan for the defense of the mountain area between Genoa and the Po valley, which included the Oltrepò Pavese.

castello Dal Verme di Zavattarello