The Town through History
di Luigi Elefanti
PRE-ROMAN ORIGINS
Historians now agree that in our municipality there were stable settlements dating back to pre-Roman times.
There is no documentary or archaeological evidence that can confirm this. The now accepted hypothesis finds foundation in the particular ending "-ago" and "igo" with which the name of the capital ends and many of the names of the surrounding places.
According to linguists it is an ending of Celtic origin frequent in those areas of northern Italy where the influence of the Celts was greatest before the arrival of the Romans. The reiteration with which this ending occurs in the neighboring places of our country - Gravanago, Stefanago, Salterigo, Inveriago, Cavalarigo, Primorago, Polinago strengthens the hypothesis of a notable Celtic influence, even before Roman, in the area. It is therefore possible to reasonably advance the hypothesis of the existence in our territory of lasting Celtic settlements, from which the current localities originated. The Romans then kept and Latinized these names.
HILLY CLIMATE AND GOOD QUALITY WATER
The Celts or Gauls came from France and settled in the Po Valley between the 5th and 4th centuries. to. C. . Therefore, the presence of the first settlements of organized human groups in the territory of our municipality can be traced back to this period.
Fortunago undoubtedly enjoyed a favorable location. It is far from the marshy and marshy areas that abounded in the flat areas close to the river Po; and the temperate climate of the hilly area sheltered it from the rigors of winter, characteristic of mountain resorts. Lastly, the presence of a perennial source of good quality water should not be overlooked, which has certainly encouraged the establishment of a stable agglomeration of people. The hill where the town stands is made up of sandstone which forms a dry and solid ground. From its leveling it was possible to obtain a flat surface suitable for housing a residential nucleus. The area located to the south of the hilly relief was easily irrigated by channeling the water from the spring and was therefore suitable for the cultivation of vegetable gardens and fruit trees, these products of the earth constituted a valid food support for the villagers. From the leveling of the hilltop it was possible to obtain stones of different sizes suitable for the construction of the dry-stone walls of the castellaro which defended the inhabitants from external threats. Woods extended around the town which supplied acorns, mushrooms, wild fruits and timber for the construction and heating of buildings. The other building materials of the houses: clay and straw were easily available in the immediate vicinity of the hills. The Celts were warlike men, but they had also developed agricultural techniques quite advanced for those times. They built and used metal agricultural tools: spades, hoes, rakes, billhooks, scythes, similar in shape to those in use today, with these tools they were able to adequately till the soil. Therefore, they did not limit themselves to the collection of the spontaneous fruits of the earth: fruit, tubers, mushrooms, and to the breeding of goats and pigs in the wild; but, thanks to the agricultural exploitation of the soil, they were able to obtain new food resources which allowed them to improve their standard of living. Thus they managed to overcome the semi-nomadic condition that had characterized their previous history, giving life, even in our municipality, to a stable residential nucleus organized around the castellaro. The castellari or fortified villages were frequent in the Apennine and pre-Alpine reliefs. The top of the hill was surrounded by dry stone walls 2 meters wide at the base with a height between three and eight meters. They were made with large blocks of stone, the smaller ashlars were used in the external fills, while the flakes served as a wedge. The houses and shelters for animals in case of danger were built on the plateau. Most of the houses had wooden walls, between the horizontal poles, driven into the ground, a trellis of branches was created which was then covered with clay in order to insulate the interior from the weather, the roof was supported by beams , also made of wood and was covered with straw, rye or broom straws; the floor was dirt. Other houses were built on the relief next to the walls, creating small leveling defended by retaining walls built mostly dry or with little use of binders: sandy silt or clay. Pavia historian Siro Severino Casoni drew, in 1782, a panel that represented the Pavia area at the time when it was inhabited by the Levi and Marici populations, of Celtic descent. Fortunago appears on the table with the caption "Aedes Fortunas", home of fortune.
