The town is also named, more officially, . The inhabitants of Reggio nell'Emilia (called ''Reggiani'') usually call their town with the simple name of ''Reggio''. In some ancient maps the town is also named ''Reggio di Lombardia''.
The old town has an hexagonal form, which derives from the ancient walls, and the main buildings are from XVI - XVIII centuries. The commune's territory is totally on a plain, crossed by the
Crostolo stream.
The town is also known for the
Reggio Emilia Approach in children's education.
Though not
Roman in origin, Reggio began as an historical site with the construction by
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus of the
Via Aemilia , leading from
Piacenza to
Rimini (
187 BC ). Reggio became a justice's administration centre, with a
Forum called at first ''Lepidi'', then ''Lepidum Regium'', end in the end simply ''Regium'', whence the city's current name.
During Roman age Regium is cited only by
Festus and
Cicero , as one of the military stations on the Via Aemilia. It was a flourishing city anyway, a ''
Municipium '' with statutes, magistrates and art collegia of its own.
Apollinaris Of Ravenna brought
Christianity in the
1st Century AD. The sources confirm the presence of a
Bishop ric in Reggio after the
Edict Of Milan (
313 ). In
440 the Reggio's
Diocesis was submitted to
Ravenna by
Western Roman Empire Valentinianus III . At the end of the
4th Century , however, Reggio had decayed so much that
Saint Ambrose include it among the dilapidated cities. Damages were increased the Barbarian invasions. At the fall of the Western Empire (
476 ), Reggio was part of the
Odoacer 's reign. In
489 it was in the
Ostrogothic kingdom; later (
539 ) it belonged to the
Exarchate Of Ravenna , but was conquered by
Alboin 's
Lombards in
569 . Reggio was chosen as
Duchy Of Reggio seat.
In
773 the
Franks subjected Reggio, and
Charlemagne gave the bishop royal authority over the city and established the diocesis' limits (
781 ). In
888 Regio was handed over to the
Kings Of Italy . In
889 the
Magyars heavily damaged it, killing bishop Azzo II. In this occasion new walls were built. On
October 31 ,
900 , emperor
Louis III issued the permission to erect a ''castrum'' (castle) in the city's centre.
In
1002 the Reggio's territory, together with the ones of
Parma ,
Brescia ,
Modena ,
Mantova and
Ferrara , were merged into the
Mark of
Tuscany , later held by
Matilde Of Canossa .
Reggio became a free commune around the end of the
11th or the beginning of the
12th Century . In
1167 it was a member of the
Lombard League and took part to the
Battle Of Legnano . In
1183 the city signed the
Treaty Of Konstanz , from which the city's
Consul , Rolando della Carità, received the imperial investiture. The following peace spurred a period of prosperity: Reggio adopted new statutes, had a mint, schools with celebrated masters, and developed its trades and arts. It also increasingly submitted the castles of the nearby land.
The
12th and
13th Century , however, were also a period of grevious inner struggles, with parties of Scopiazzati and Mazzaperlini, and later those of Ruggeri and Malaguzzi, facing sharply in the streets. In
1152 Reggio also warred with Parma and in
1225 with Modena, in the course of the general struggle between
Guelphs And Ghibellines in Italy. In
1260 25,000
Penitent s, led by a
Perugine Hermit , entered the city, and this event calmed the situation for a while, spurring a momentanous flourishing of religious fervour. But disputes soon regained paced, and as early as
1265 the Ghibellines killed Guelph's leader, Caco da Reggio, and gained preeminence. Disputes however continued against the bishop and two new parties formed, the Inferiori and Superiori. Final victory went to the latter.
To thwart the abuses of powerful families such as Sessi, Fogliani and Canossa, the Senate of Reggio gave the city's rule for three years to the
Este member
Obizzo D'Este . This chose marked the future passage of Reggio under the seignory of that family, as Obizzo continued to rule ''de facto'' after his mandate has ceased. His son Azzo was expelled by the Reggiani in
1306 , creating a republic ruled by 800 common people. In
1310 the emperor
Henry VII imposed marquis
Spinetto Malaspina as vicar, but he was soon driven out. The republic disappeared in
1326 as cardinal
Bertrando Del Poggetto annexed Reggio to the
Papal States .
The city was subsequently under the suzerainty of
John Of Bohemia , Nicolò Fogliani and
Martino Della Scala , who in
1336 gave it to
Luigi Gonzaga . Gonzaga built a citadel in the St. Nazario quarter, and destroyed 144 houses. In
1356 the
Milan ese
Visconti , helped by 2,000 exiled Reggiani, captured the city, starting a confused period fo shared power with the Gonzaga. In the end the latter sold Reggio to the Visconti for 5,000
Ducat s. In
1405 Ottobono Terzi of Parma seized Reggio, but was killed by
Michele Attendolo , who handed over the city to
Nicolò III D'Este , who therefore became seignor of Reggio. The city however maintained a relevant autonomy, with laws and a coin of its own. niccolò was succedeed by his illegittimate son
Lionello , and, from
1450 , by
Borso D'Este .
See Also: Duchy of Reggio
In
1452 Borso obtained from
Ferdinand III the title of Duke of Reggio and Modena. Borso's successor,
Ercole I , imposed heavy bills over the city and named the poet
Matteo Maria Boiardo as its governor, with the task of exterminate the bandits ruling in the countryside. Later another famous Italian writer,
Francesco Guicciardini , held the same charge.
In
1513 Reggio was handed over to
Pope Julius II . The city was returned to the Este after the death of
Hadrian VI (
September 29 ,
1523 ). In
1551 Ercole II D'Este destroyed the suburbs of the city in his program of reconstruction of the walls. At the end of the century the famous city's
Basilica Della Ghiara was begun.
The Este rule continued until
1796 , with short interruptions in
1702 and
1733 -
1734 .
The arrive of the
Republican French troops was greeted with enthusiasm in the city. On
August 21 ,
1796 , the ducal garrison of 600 men was driven away, and the Senate claimed the rule of Reggio and its duchy. On
September 26 , the Provisional Government's voluntaries pushed back an
Austria n column, in the battle of
Montechiarugolo . Though small, this clash is considered the first one of the Italian
Risorgimento .
Napoleon himself awarded the Reggiani with 500
Rifle s and 4
Gun s. Later he occupied the Emilia and formed a new province, the
Cispadane Republic , whose esistence was proclaimed in Reggio on
January 7 ,
1797 .
The
Treaty Of Vienna returned Reggio to
Francesco IV D'Este (
1815 ). In
1831 Modena revolted against him, and Reggio followed its example organizing a corps under the command of general
Carlo Zucchi . However, on
March 9 , the duke conquered the city with his escort of Austrian soldiers.
In
1848 duke
Francesco V left his state fearing a revolution. Reggio proclaimed its annexion to
Piemonte . The latter's defeat at
Novara brought the city back under the Estense sway. In
1859 Reggio, under
Dictator Luigi Carlo Farini , united again to
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March 10 ,
1860 , definitively enter the new unified kingdom.
Reggio experimented subsequently an economical and population growth, which led from
1873 to the destruction of the ancient walls. In
1911 it had 70,000 inhabitants. A strong
Socialist tradition grew, whose deep roots were shown by the heavy repression under the
Fascist period. On
July 26 ,
1943 , the régime's fall was cheered with entusiasm by the Reggiani. In the city's countryside numerous
Partisan bands were formed.
The first city's elections after
World War II were won by the
Italian Communist Party . Local administration subsequently were included amont the wisest of the whole Italy, and Reggio could face without too much problems the quick economical and industrial rise, as well as the reception of great numbers of immigrants coming from Southern Italy.
- The ( 9th - 12th Century ). It was reconstructed in the second half of the 16th Century . It has three naves with works by Guercino , Palma The Younger and Alessandro Tiarini .
- The . Built in the 10th Century , it was reconstructed by Luca Corti and Matteo Fiorentini between 1514 and 1523 . The façade, with eleven statues of saints and patrones, was redesigned by Giovan Battista Catani in mid- 18th Century . It includes a pleasant belfry/tower, begun in 1535 , with an octagonal plant. The interior of the church has a Latin cross plant, with three naves. The apse houses the splendid cycle of ''Last Judgement'', Fresco ed by the Bolognese artist Camillo Procaccini . Also noteworthy are the wood choir from 1546 and the ''Assumption'' altarpiece by Tommaso Laureti and Ludovico Carracci ( 1602 ).
- The Baroque ( 1597 ), the most important church of the city.
- The
- The church of
- The church of , designed by Giulio Della Torre and built in 1625 - 1629 . A belfry tower was added in 1765 and a façade added in 1782 , while the Cloister was constructed in the 16th century. The interior is in Latin cross shape with a single nave. It house notable Baroque paintings by Tiarini, Pietro Desani , Camillo Gavasetti and Paolo Emilio Besenzi .
- The church of
- The church of , cited in the 11th Century as a Templar s' church
- The church of (c. 1200). It houses Baroque paintings by Sisto Badalocchio , Lorenzo Franchi , Tommaso Sandrini , Paolo Guidotti and Alessandro Tiarini.
- The ( 1672 , rebuilt in 1848 )
- ( 18th Century )
- ( 1280 , restored in 1432 , has typical Ghibelline Machicolation . The façades show crests of ancient Reggio's Captains and Communities. In the interior is the ''Sala dei Difensori'', "Defenders' Room"), a wide hall once used for the council of the Reggiani people.
- (began in 1414 ), with the Tricolore 's Room and the Museum of the Italian Flag. The '''Torre del Bordello''' ("Brothel's Tower"), built in 1489 , houses a museum of the Reggiani's deeds of 1796-1831.
- The Neo-Classical
