Vische
The first core of Vische dates back to 420 AD: the Barbarians coming
from the North, among which Allobroges and Suevians, settled in
Northern Italy and created some villages among Lago di Candia, Dora,
and the surrounding woods. It is likely that the name of Vische derives
from an old German word (Quitsken) meaning "the fish dart":
fishing was the main means of sustenance together with hunting. One of
the country-wards was subsequently called Viscano: the final part of
the name witnesses its Roman origins, like for Cigliano and Albiano.
During
the Middle Ages Vische was at first the ecclesiastic feud of the Bishop
of Ivrea, and it became afterwards a lay feud under the Lords of
Barone, Filippo d'Acaja, the Marques of Birago. Finally, in the 20th
century, all the estates of the Birago were given to the hospital
Amedeo di Savoia which, after World War I suggested the purchase of the
lands to the farmers who had been working them for generations: so,
farmsteads and land which had always belonged to the feudal lords and
to the rich Lords, became property of the farmers from Vische.
The
great number of rural architectures scattered throughout the territory
together with the votive chapels and the tabernacles which are still
object of veneration and devotion, the shapes of the agricultural
landscape represent the evidence of the historical and economic events
characterizing the development of Vische.
