L'evoluzione dei toponimi fra tardoantico e alto Medioevo. Il caso di Pavia

The change from the Roman name of Pavia, Ticinus / Ticinum, to Papia raises a number of chronological, historical and linguistic issues. The passage probably occurred in the Lombard period and became official after the Frankish conquest, as evidenced by ancient witnesses, which do not date back beyond the end of VII century and assert themselves from the second half of VIII century onwards. The etymology of the name and the reasons of the change remain uncertain: the need to distinguish the name of the city from the name of the river and the Greek linguistic hint of the toponym are however elements to be considered.