Piacenza, Italy

Piacenza (Italian: [pjaˈtʃɛntsa] (listen); Piacentino: Piaṡëinsa [pi.aˈzəi̯sɐ]; Latin: Placentia), occasionally known in English by its French name Plaisance, is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. The etymology is long-standing, tracing an origin from the Latin verb placēre, "to please": The name means "pleasant" or (as James Boswell reported some of the etymologists of his time to have translated it) "comely abode", and it was given as a good omen.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 Turin. Piacenza is also at the confluence of the Trebbia, draining the northern Apennine Mountains, and the Po, draining to the east. Piacenza also hosts two universities, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Polytechnic University of Milan and University of Parma.