Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Geography

Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and south-southwest of

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, and on the Adigetto Canal. The ''

'' of Rovigo extends between the rivers Adige and Canal Bianco, west of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

, except the ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of Fenil del Turco that extends south of the Canal Bianco. Polesine is the name of the low ground between the lower courses of the rivers Adige and Po and the sea; the derivation of the name is much discussed, generally applied only to the province of Rovigo, but is sometimes extended to the near towns of

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

and

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

History

Rovigo (both ''Rodigium'' and ''Rhodigium'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

script) appears to be first mentioned in a document from

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

dating April 24, 838; the origin of the name is uncertain. In 920 it was selected as his temporary residence by the bishop of Adria,

Paolo Cattaneo Paolo is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Paul. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Paolo Art * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter *Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American ...

, after the destruction of his city by Hungarian marauders; the fortifications he ordered were already finished in 945. The

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

s of Rovigo built a line of

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

walls in the 1130s in the name of the House of Este. The current Torre Donà is a remnant of the castle built some time in between; it is 66 m high and it may have been the highest brick

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

at that time if the date of construction is correct. In 1194 Rovigo became a formal possession of

Azzo VI d'Este Azzo VI (1170 – November 1212), also known as Azzolino, was an Italian nobleman and condottiero. He held the title of Marquis of Este (''marchio Eystensis'') from the death of his father, Azzo V (1190) until his death. Biography He was heavil ...

, duke of

, who took the title of ''conte'' (count) of Rovigo. The Este authority ended in 1482, when the Venetians took the place by siege and retained possession of it by the peace of 1484. Although the Este recovered the city during the

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

, the Venetians, returning in 1514, retained possession until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. In 1806

Napoleon I Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

created it a

duché grand-fief As Emperor of the French, Napoleon I created titles of nobility to institute a stable elite in the First French Empire, after the instability resulting from the French Revolution. Like many others, both before and since, Napoleon found that th ...

for general Anne Jean Marie René Savary. The

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

in 1815 made it a royal city. 1864 5soldi Rovigo

With the fall of the 1815-1866 Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, Rovigo was annexed to the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

in 1866; in the same year it was connected by

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

to Padua, Ferrara,

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

(through

Legnago Legnago () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Verona, Veneto, northern Italy, with population (2012) of 25,439. It is located on the Adige river, about from Verona. Its fertile land produces crops of rice, other cereals, sugar, and toba ...

), and Chioggia (through Adria). In the 1900s the first modern

industries Industry may refer to: Economics * Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity * Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery * The wider industrial secto ...

were established, the most important of which was a sugar refinery. In 1927 the territory of the ''comune'' was extended including close

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. In 1937 the course of the Adigetto Canal was diverted to the west edge of the town and a large avenue called ''Corso del Popolo'' was built in place of the former course. In the years 1943–1945 Rovigo was part of the

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

and it has been in Italy since 1946. In the 1950s and 1960s Rovigo had a dramatic development and it had the highest

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

rate among the towns in the Veneto region after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Government

Main sights

Giulio-Monteverdi-Vittorio-Emanuele-II-Rovigo

Ettore-Ferrari-Monumento-equestre-a-Garibaldi-Rovigo

The architecture of the town bears the stamp both of Venetian and of Ferrarese influence. Main sights include : *

Rovigo Cathedral Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

(''Duomo'', dedicated to Martyr

Pope Steven I Pope Stephen I ( la, Stephanus I) was the bishop of Rome from 12 May 254 to his death on 2 August 257.Mann, Horace (1912). "Pope St. Stephen I" in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company. He was later canonized ...

), the co-cathedral in the bishopric of Adria–Rovigo; it was originally built before the 11th century, but rebuilt in 1461 and again in 1696. The art works of the interior includes a ''Resurrection of Christ'' by

Palma the Younger Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ("Young Palma"), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

. * Ruins of the ''Castle'' (10th century), of which two towers remain * ''Madonna del Soccorso'': church best known as ''La Rotonda''. If was built between 1594 and 1606 by Francesco Zamberlan of Bassano, a pupil of

Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

, to house a miraculous image of a sitting Madonna with Child carrying a rose. The edifice has octagonal plan, surrounded by a portico, begun in 1594. The original construction had a cupola, which was later substituted by a simple ceiling for static reasons. The fine

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, standing at 57 m, was built according to plans by

Baldassarre Longhena Baldassare Longhena (1598 – 18 February 1682) was an Italian architect, who worked mainly in Venice, where he was one of the greatest exponents of Baroque architecture of the period. Biography Born in Venice, Longhena studied under the architect ...

(1655–1673). The walls of the interior of the church are wholly covered by 17th centuries paintings by prominent provincial and Venetian artists, including

Francesco Maffei Francesco Maffei (1605 – 2 July 1660) was an Italian painter, active in the Baroque style. Biography He probably trained in his birthplace of Vicenza with his father, and painted mostly in the towns of the Veneto (Venetian mainland). He di ...

, Domenico Stella, Giovanni Abriani,

Alessandro Varotari Alessandro Leone Varotari (4 April 1588 – 20 July 1649), also commonly known as Il Padovanino, was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerist and early- Baroque Venetian school, best known for having mentored Pietro Liberi, Giulio Carpioni, and ...

(''il Padovanino''), Pietro Vecchia, Pietro Liberi, Antonio Zanchi and Andrea Celesti. *''Immacolata Concezione'' : Church dating to 1213. * ''San Francesco'': church in Gothic-Romanesque style but with extensive intervention from the 19th century. The belfry is from 1520. In the interior are several ''Saints'' sculptures by

Tullio Lombardo Tullio Lombardo (c. 1455 – November 17, 1532), also known as Tullio Solari, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor. He was the brother of Antonio Lombardo and son of Pietro Lombardo. The Lombardo family worked together to sculpt famous Catholic ...

(1526). * The Town hall, which contains a library including some rare early editions, belonging to the Accademia de Concordi, founded in 1580, and a fair picture gallery enriched with the spoils of the monasteries. *'' Palazzo Roverella'', largely restored but still example of

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

, now serves as town art gallery. *''Palazzo Roncale'': Renaissance palace (1555) by

Michele Sanmicheli Michele Sanmicheli (also spelled ''Sanmmicheli'', ''Sanmichele'' or ''Sammichele'') (1484–1559), was a Venetian architect and urban planner of Mannerist-style, among the greatest of his era. A tireless worker, he was in charge of designing bui ...

*''Palazzo Venezze'' (1715) *''Pinacoteca dei Concordi'' ("Concordi Gallery") houses important paintings, including a ''Madonna with Child and Christ with the Cross'' by

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 26 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father ...

, a ''Flagellation of Christ'' by

Palma the Elder Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 30 July 1528), born Jacopo Palma, also known as Jacopo Negretti, was a Venetian painter of the Italian High Renaissance. He is called Palma Vecchio in English and Palma il Vecchio in Italian ("Palma the Elder") to di ...

, a ''Venus with the Mirror'' by Jan Gossaert, and portraits by Tiepolo and Alessandro Longhi.

Villages nearby

Barchessa Candiani, Basso Cavallo, Boara Polesine, Boaria San Marco, Borsea, Braga-Cantonazzo, Buso, Busovecchio, Ca'Bianca, Ca'Matte, Ca'Lunga, Campagna Terzi, Campagnazza, Cantonazzo, Capolavia, Ca'Rangon, Concadirame, Corte Lazzarini, Fenile Morosina, Fenil del Turco, Granzette,

Grignano Polesine Grignano Polesine is a ''frazione'' of Rovigo with 3,000 inhabitants. It is approximately 8 km south of the town centre. With the name of ''Grignano di Polesine,'' assumed in 1867 after the precedent ''Grignano,'' it became an autonomous ''c ...

, Grompo, Grumolo, Le Cassette, Le Giarelle, Le Sorbolaro, L'Olmo, Lusia, Mardimago, Roverdicrè, San Sisto, Santa Libera, Santa Rita,

Sant'Apollinare Sant'Apollinare (locally ''Santapunaro'' or ''Santapunare'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. Sant'Apollinare borders the ...

, Sarzano and Spianata.

Twin towns – sister cities

Rovigo is twinned with: *

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, United Kingdom * Tulcea, Romania *

Viernheim Viernheim is a midsize industrial town on Mannheim's outskirts and is found in the Rhine Neckar agglomeration and economic area. It is the second biggest town in Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany. Since 1994 it has also borne the title '' Br ...

, Germany

Sport

Stadio Mario Battaglini, tribuna Quaglio

Rovigo is home of Rugby Rovigo, the city's rugby team has won the Top12 competition 13 times. The team has attracted many famous from around the rugby world, including Naas Botha and the coach Carwyn James. Other practiced sports include football/soccer, swimming, handball, baseball and roller hockey. The "Rosso Blu" as the baseball team is known is at the level of Serie "A" competition. Notable American players who have played for Rovigo Baseball include: Nathan Cardella (Fresno, Ca.) and Mark Peracchi (San Francisco, Ca). Rovigo is the first Italian city to have a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

club. Ascaro Rovigo Gaelic Football Club was founded on June 2, 2011. President and founder of Rovigo GAA Raffaello Franco went to Ireland for his honeymoon that year where he watched a football game at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

– he returned home with an

O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long re ...

ball and a dream to set up a GAA club in Italy. Within two years the resulting club's football team of about 90% Italian players are going from strength to strength as they embrace every code that the GAA has to offer. The team colours are red and blue.

Transportation

Rovigo railway station Rovigo railway station ( it, Stazione di Rovigo) serves the town and ''comune'' of Rovigo, in the Veneto Regions of Italy, region, Northeast Italy, northeastern Italy. Opened in 1866, the railway station, station forms part of the Padua–Bologna ...

, opened in 1866, forms part of the

Padua–Bologna railway The Padua–Bologna railway is an important railway line in Italy that joins the city of Padua to Bologna, passing through Rovigo and Ferrara. The infrastructure is managed by RFI, which classifies it as a primary line. History The railway ...

, and is also a

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...

for two other lines. Heading eastwards, towards

and Chioggia, is the Rovigo–Chioggia railway, and heading west, towards

and

, is the Verona–Legnago–Rovigo railway.