Pianoro ( Bolognese: ) is a town 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

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 ...

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 of

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 hills of the Tusco-Emilian

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

, above sea level. Highway SS 65 connects the town to

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= 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 150 different na ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

across the

. Pianoro has a local railway station with connections to

and

History

According to legend the Etruscan king Ocno (also known as Bianore, mythical founder of Felsina and other cities), lived in the area. There is evidence of Celtic and Etruscan settlement at the Monte Bibele archeological site. The Roman presence in the area is seen in the names of local villages such as Sesto. Bonifacio of Canossa, feudal lord of Pianoro during the 11th century, used to live in the Castle of Pianoro, subsequently demolished by the inhabitants of Bologna who accused the people of Pianoro of conspiracy. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the town was heavily bombed by Anglo-American forces. The

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of ...

was very close and in October 1944 there was a huge battle (in Livergnano) involving German, American forces and local partisans, leaving on the ground thousands of Anglo-American soldiers. Civil engineers reported that 98.5 percent of the town was destroyed during the battle. Many German soldiers are buried in the German Military Cemetery and War Memorial at the Futa pass, a few kilometers south of the town in the direction of

. The town was rebuilt north of the old site, toward Bologna. The new town is called Pianoro Nuovo (New Pianoro) and the remains of the old are called Pianoro Vecchio (Old Pianoro).

Economy

Industries located in the area are primarily in the mechanical engineering and packaging (Marchesini Group, Romaco, MG2) and chemicals ( Sayerlack S.r.l., part of

Sherwin-Williams Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Cleveland, Ohio–based company in the paint and coating manufacturing industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of paints, coatings, floorcoverings, and related p ...

) sectors

Landscape and tourism

The ''Gessi Bolognesi e Calanchi dell'Abbadessa Park'', shared with

San Lazzaro di Savena San Lazzaro di Savena ( Bolognese: ) is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality) of some 32,000 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. Geography The town is located on the Via Emilia, a major thoroughfare for town traffic, ...

, contains an area of karstic topography with dolines,

badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...

and cliffs. There are many trails used by walkers, trekkers and bikers, including the Via degli Dei, a trail connecting

across the

Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. Pianoro Cricket Club is a very successful cricket team, winning the Serie A tournament and the Italian Goblet several times, and the European Championship in 1995.

Transportation

Pianoro is connected to Bologna and Florence by National Highway SS65 Futa and is located about 12 km from the former and 88 km from the latter. Pianoro railway station is served by hourly Regional Trains between Bologna Centrale and Prato, two return trains Firenze Santa Maria Novella-Bologna Centrale and Firenze Campo di Marte-Bologna Centrale, as well as hourly Regional Trains Bologna Centrale-San Benedetto Val di Sambro as part of Route SFM1A of Bologna Suburban Railway Service. TPER bus services offer frequent connections to/from Bologna, San Lazzaro di Savena and Monghidoro. The routes are the following: *13A Borgo Panigale-Ospedale Maggiore-Bologna Centre-San Ruffillo-Rastignano/Carteria di Sesto (extension to Pianoro on late trips on weekends) *96 Bologna Piazza Cavour-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro (extension to Monghidoro on public holidays) *96A Bologna Piazza Cavour-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto *126 San Lazzaro di Savena-Lago dei Castori-Pianoro *900 Bologna Bus Station-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro-Loiano-Monghidoro *903 San Lazzaro di Savena-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro *904 Bologna Via Azzurra-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro *905 Bologna Via Vetulonia-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro *906 Bologna Bus Station-San Ruffillo-Rastignano-Carteria di Sesto-Pianoro-Loiano-Monghidoro-Castel dell'Alpi

References

External links

Official website

Googlemap: Pianoro as seen from the satellite

Marchesini Group

MG2

SAYERLACK S.r.l.
{{authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna