Castel Maggiore ( Bolognese: ) is an Italian

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Metropolitan City of Bologna,

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, located north of the centre of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

. Though its name recalls a translation like ''Great Castle'', the name is actually derived from the earlier name ''Castaniolo Maggiore'', which means "Bigger Chestnut Tree", in relation to another nearby village still today named "Castagnolino", meaning "Small Chestnut Tree".

History

The first documents conveying the existence of the Comune, in ancient times called ''Castaniolo'' (meaning "Little chestnut") date back to the 10th century. The legend narrates that the name comes from a big chestnut trunk that should have floated into the territory of the comune through the Canale Navile (a navigable drain canal). Afterwards Castaniolo was marked by the nickname of ''Maggiore'' (''Major'') in order to distinguish it from a homonymous hamlet (now ''Castaniolo Minore'') of the ''comune'' of Bentivoglio. The name was changed into the one it still carries nowadays during

Napoleon 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 ...

's era, in 1818, in which jurisdiction on today's hamlets has been recognised. The town underwent heavy bomb attacks during

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 opposing ...

because of the passage of the railroad linking

and

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 ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Castel Maggiore is twinned with: * Ingré, France

References

Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub