Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia (Latin: Regium Lepidi), officially Reggio nell'Emilia, is a city of 167,678 inhabitants (2009) located along Via Emilia, capital of the homonymous province, in the Emilia-Romagna region.
It stands out because in this city the flag of Italy (called Tricolore) arose, a fact for which the plenary hall of the town hall of the town receives the name Sala Tricolore.
In Roman times it was called Regium Lepidi in honor of Marco Emilio Lépido, founder of the city and the road that gives the region its name. Before the unification of Italy the city was known simply as Reggio.
There is a pedagogical current called Reggio Emilia that originated in this city after the Second World War. It is student-centered and uses the environment as a third teacher.
Demographics
| Reggio Emilia's demographic evolution figure between 1861 and 2011 |
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Source ISTAT - Wikipedia graphics |
History
With the arrival of the Romans, at the beginning of the II century d. C., Reggio Emilia (Regium Lepidi) becomes an urban center inserted in a road system founded around the via Emilia, while the plain around it is colonized. The economic life that begins is intensely maintained throughout the imperial period until the barbarian invasion.
From the VIII century, the continuity of civil powers and the permanence of the urban structure are guarantors of the Bishopric. In the IX century, in the Reggian territory, the county of Matilda de Canossa was born, famous for having facilitated, in 1077, the absolution of Pope Gregory VII to Henry IV. It was in the XI century that an imposing castle system was created in said county.
In 1452 Borso d'Este obtained from the Emperor the title of Duke of Modena and Reggio. The city was occupied by Pope Julius II in 1512, remaining in the hands of the Papal States until 1523, when the town was recovered by Alfonso I de Este.
The 17th and XVIII were characterized by numerous wars and looting although, in times of peace, the Regian people expressed their industriousness by building important palaces and religious buildings.
On January 7, 1797, Reggio saw the birth of the Cispadan Republic and the 'Tricolore', the flag that was later used as the official Italian flag. During the twenty years of fascism, the resistance spirit of the Regianos stood out, ending with the fight for liberation, for which the city was awarded the gold medal for military valor.
Monuments
Religious Buildings
- The Baroque Basilica of the Ghiara (1597), is the most important church in the city.
- The Basilica of St. Built in the centuryXX. and dedicated to Prospero de Reggio, bishop of the city, was reconstructed by Luca Corti and Matteo Fiorentini between 1514 and 1523. The facade, with eleven statues of saints and patterns, was redesigned by Giovan Battista Cattani in the middle of the centuryXVIII. It includes a bell tower / tower, started in 1535 and never finished, with an octagonal plant. The interior of the church has a Latin cross plant, with three naves. The apse houses the fresco of the Final Judgment of the artist of Bologna Camillo Procaccini. The wood choir of 1546 and the altarpiece of the Assumption of Tommaso Laureti and Ludovico Carracci (1602).
- The Cathedral (Duomo) (century)IX Al XII). It was rebuilt in the second half of the centuryXVI. It consists of three ships with works by Guercino, Palma el Joven, Prospero Spani and Alessandro Tiarini.
- Baptistery of Saint John the Baptist
- The Church of Saint Augustine (San Agostino). Once dedicated to San Apolinar, his dedication was modified in 1268 when he was reconstructed, along with the convent annexed, by the Augustinian friars. It was restored in 1452, when the tower was also erected.
- The Church of San Francisco (San Francesco)
- The Church of Saint George (San Giorgio)
- The church of San Giovannino (dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist) (c. 1200). It houses baroque paintings by Sisto Badalocchio, Lorenzo Franchi, Tommaso Sandrini, Paolo Guidotti and Tiarini.
- The church of San Pedro (San Pietro), work of Giulio della Torre and built between 1625-1629. A bell tower was added in 1765 and a façade added in 1782, while the cloister was built in the centuryXVI. The interior has a Latin cross shape with a single nave that houses notable Baroque paintings by Tiarini, Pietro Desani, Luca da Reggio, Camillo Gavasetti and Paolo Emilio Besenzi.
- The Baroque church of San Felipe.
- The Church of St. Stephen, of the CenturyXI, finding himself such a strange city place, like a church of the Templars.
Economy
The economy of the province of Reggio Emilia was long based on agriculture. One of the typical products, known and imitated throughout the world, is Parmesan cheese. Another of them is Lambrusco wine.
In the XX century, Reggio Emilia and its territory saw a rapid development of small industries, particularly in the sector of mechanics for agriculture. Some of these industries became large companies, with an international market (Lombardini S.r.l., Landini).
Reggio Emilia has also become the headquarters of some textile groups of various importance, since the second half of the XX century, the Max Mara company is based in the city. Another well-established branch is the ceramic industry (mainly in the Scandiano and Casalgrande district).
News in mechanics and information technology have led to the origin of some new companies that operate in mechatronics.
For more than a hundred years, a strong tradition supports building and banking cooperatives, as well as consumer cooperatives.
Industrial growth has attracted immigration from North and Central Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Far East (China, Pakistan, India). This phenomenon has caused the immigration rate in the province to be approximately 10%.
Painters and sculptors of Reggio Emilia
- Giacomo Benevelli
- Oreste Carpi
- Paolo da San Leocadio
- Antonio Allegri da Correggio ("El Correggio")
- Luca Ferrari ("Luca da Reggio")
- Rina Ferri
- Antonio Fontanesi
- Gino Gandini
- Anselmo Govi
- Christforo Munari
- Lelio Orsi
- Raffaellino da Reggio
- Prospero Spani ("The Clement")
- Nani Tedeschi
- Marco Grassi
Other famous people from Reggio Emilia
- Gabriele Cerlini (music and DJ)
- Flavia Bertolini (photograph and writer)
- Ludovico Ariosto (pot)
- Vasco Ascolini (photographer)
- Luca Baricchi
- Stefano Baldini (Marathon champion)
- Benny Benassi (music)
- Matteo Maria Boiardo (poet)
- Gino Bondavalli (boxing champion)
- Paolo Borciani (violinist)
- Ermanno Cavazzoni (writer)
- Raffaele Crovi (writer)
- Silvio D'Arzo (writer)
- Giuseppe Dossetti (political)
- Stanislao Farri (photograph)
- Adelmo Fornaciari (musician, singer)
- Sonia Ganassi (Opera sewer)
- Luigi Ghirri (photograph)
- Nilde Iotti (political)
- Luigi Magnani
- Loris Malaguzzi (educator and creator of Reggio Children)
- Maria Melato (actriz)
- Natale Prampolini (senator)
- Romano Prodi (economist, political)
- Filippo Re (scientific)
- Serge Reggiani (actor, singer)
- Meuccio Ruini (political)
- Angelo Secchi (scientific)
- Lazzaro Spallanzani (scientific)
- Ferruccio Tagliavini (Operator)
- Rosa Testi in Rangoni (counter)
- Pier Vittorio Tondelli (writer)
- Romolo Valli (actor)
- Giovanni Battista Venturi (scientific)
- Ermete Zacconi (actor)
- Cesare Zavattini (writer, painter)
- Marco Di Mauro (cantautor)
- Leopoldo Boccazzi (sculptor)
Sports
AC Reggiana 1919 is the city's soccer club. He plays in Serie B, the second category of Italian football. They play their home matches at the Città del Tricolore Stadium.
Twinnings
Reggio Emilia is twinned with:
Bydgoszcz, Poland
Chişinău, Moldova
Cutro, Italy
Dijon, France
Fort Worth, United States
Gerona, Spain
Kragujevac, Serbia
Toluca, Mexico
Zadar, Croatia
Rio Branco, Brazil
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