The Metropolitan City of Bologna ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bologna) is a

metropolitan city A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

in the

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 ...

region,

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 ...

. Its capital is ''de facto'' the city 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 the body does not explicitly outline it. It was created by the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990) and established by the Law 56/2014, replacing the

Province of Bologna The province of Bologna ( it, provincia di Bologna) was a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital was the city of Bologna. The province of Bologna covered an area of and had a total population of 1,004,323 inhabitan ...

. It has been operative since 1 January 2015. The Metropolitan City is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor (''Sindaco metropolitano'') and by the Metropolitan Council (''Consiglio metropolitano'').

History

Remains of the Iron Age

Villanovan culture The Villanovan culture (c. 900–700 BC), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfiel ...

were discovered near Bologna by archaeologists in 1853. The city was settled by the Etruscans and named Velzna, later Felsina. In the 6th century BCE, Felsina was known for its markets and trade. It was invaded by the Gallic

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul ( Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom ...

tribe in this period, who developed the agricultural output of the region. The Romans began their conquest of the region around 220 BCE and were successful by the 180s BCE; upon their capture of Felsina, it was renamed Bononia. After Rome fell in 476 CE and the region suffered barbarian invasions, Bononia was made a fortress. The city was owned by Charlemagne but was given to the Holy See in 774. Later, the Holy Roman Empire controlled the city and it became known as Bologna. Bologna became a commune by 1114, but it desired independence and in 1176 it joined the Lombard League, an alliance opposed to the Holy Roman Empire's influence. Emperor Frederick I recognised its desire for independence and granted it some autonomy. It joined the Second Lombard League to defeat Frederick II in 1249. Bologna became part of the Papal States in 1506 and joined the

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

upon Italian unification in the 19th century. The

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

was founded in 1088; its speciality was

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, and it set standards in the way it was organised and the curriculum that was followed by universities in Italy.

Geography

The Metropolitan City of Bologna is part of the region of

in northwestern Italy. It is in the centre of the region and is bounded on the east by the

Province of Ravenna The province of Ravenna ( it, provincia di Ravenna; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna. As of 2015, it has a population of 391,997 inhabitants over an area of , giving it ...

, while the

Province of Ferrara The province of Ferrara ( it, provincia di Ferrara; egl, pruvîncia ad Fràra) is a province in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Ferrara. As of 2016, it has a population of 354,238 inhabitants over an area ...

lies to the north and the

Province of Modena The Province of Modena ( it, Provincia di Modena) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (singular: ''co ...

lies to the west. To the south are the

Metropolitan City of Florence The Metropolitan City of Florence ( it, Città Metropolitana di Firenze) is an administrative division called Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Tuscany region, Italy. Its capital is the city of Florence. It replaced the Provin ...

, the

Province of Prato The province of Prato ( it, provincia di Prato) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Prato. It was formed from part of the province of Florence in 1992. The province has an area of and a total population of a ...

and the

Province of Pistoia The province of Pistoia ( it, provincia di Pistoia) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Pistoia and the province is landlocked. It has an area of and a total population of 291,788 inhabitants (as of 2 ...

, all in the region of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

. The metropolitan territory is largely flat, and stretches from the alluvial

Po Plain The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...

into the Apennine Mountains; the highest point in the metropolitan city is the peak of Corno alle Scale in the commune of

Lizzano in Belvedere Lizzano in Belvedere ( High Mountain Bolognese: ; City Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southwest of Bologna. Among the parishes is the church of ...

, at above sea level.

Government

List of Metropolitan Mayors of Bologna

References

External links

Official website
{{coord, 44.4939, N, 11.3428, E, source:wikidata, display=title

Villanovan culture