Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

'' of

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 ...

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 ...

, in 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 ...

, northeast of the

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

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 p ...

History

Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was the seat of an independent principality (first a county, then a duchy), a possession of the Pico family, whose most outstanding member was the polymath

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, ...

(1463–94). It was besieged two times: in 1510 by Pope Julius II and in 1551 by Pope Julius III. It was acquired by the

Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

in 1710. The city started to decay after the

castle of Mirandola The Castle of the Pico (in Italian Castello dei Pico) is a castle in the city center of Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy. Famous in Europe as a legendary impregnable fortress, it belonged to the House of Pico della Mirandola, who rule ...

was partially destroyed in 1714. On 29 May 2012, a powerful earthquake hit the Mirandola area. It killed at least 17 people and collapsed churches and factories. Also 200 were injured. The 5.8 magnitude quake left 14,000 people homeless.Dailystar, 17 dead and 200 injured in latest killer quake in northern Italy, May 30, 2012 12:40 AM, By Colleen Barry
/ref>

Main sights

* The Palazzo del Comune is a 1468 edifice of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style (largely restored in the 19th century), with the portraits of the Pico and other artworks, including an ''Adoration of the Magi'' once attributed to

Palma il Giovane 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 ...

. *The

castle of the Pico The Castle of the Pico (in Italian Castello dei Pico) is a castle in the city center of Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy. Famous in Europe as a legendary impregnable fortress, it belonged to the House of Pico della Mirandola, who rule ...

family has been recently restored and it is now open to the public. * Palazzo della Ragione, in late Gothic style. * Palazzo Bergomi (15th century) * The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (known also as ''

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

'' or ''Collegiata''), dating from the end of the 15th century, has been restored. * The Church of St. Francis is a fine Gothic church. It houses the tombs of the Pico family, including that of Prendiparte Pico (14th century). Collapsed during the second of the

2012 Emilia earthquakes In May 2012, two major earthquakes struck Northern Italy, causing 27 deaths and widespread damage. The events are known in Italy as the 2012 Emilia earthquakes, because they mainly affected the Emilia region. The first earthquake, registering m ...

. * The Baroque Church of Jesus (1690). * Teatro Nuovo, opera house and theater built in 1905 and renovated in 2005. *

Stadio Libero Lolli Libero Lolli stadium is a sport facility in Mirandola, in the province of Modena, Italy. The stadium is dedicated to the memory of Libero Lolli, a Mirandola footballer who died prematurely on 23 September 1934 at the age of just 24, shortly befo ...

, sport venue

Twin cities

* Ostfildern, Germany * Villejuif, France

Sources

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Castles in Italy