Piacenza

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Piacenza (Placentia in Latin, Piasëinsa in the local dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo) is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza. Modern forms of the name descend from Latin Placentia.[note 1] The etymology is long-standing, tracing an origin from the Latin verb, placēre, "to please."[2] In French, and occasionally in English, it is called Plaisance. The name means a "pleasant abode", or as James Boswell reported some of the etymologists of his time to have translated it, "comely".[3] This was a name "of good omen."[4]

Piacenza is located at a major crossroads at the intersection of Route E35/A1 between Bologna and Milan, and Route E70/A21 between Brescia and Tortona. Piacenza is also at the confluence of the Trebbia, draining the northern Apennines, and the Po, draining to the east. Piacenza also hosts two universities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Politecnico di Milano.