Taro was a department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

in present-day

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 ...

. It was named after the

Taro river The Taro (Latin ''Tarus'') is a river in Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. It is a tributary of the Po and is long. It flows almost entirely in the province of Parma, west of the city Parma. The Taro flows into the Po near Gramignazzo, a fraz ...

. It was formed in 1808, when the

Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese ...

was annexed by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

under the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

. Its capital was

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...

. The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, the Duchy was restored and given to

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

, Napoleon's wife. Its territory is now divided between the Italian provinces of

and

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

. The most notable person born in the then-Département of Taro was the composer Giuseppe Verdi (born 9 or 10 October 1813 in the village of

Le Roncole Le Roncole (today known as Roncole Verdi) is a village in the province of Parma (Emilia-Romagna region) of Italy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Busseto. It is located 140 km southeast of Milan. It is best known as the birthplace on ...

near

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundre ...

Subdivision

The department was subdivided into the following ''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s'' and '' cantons'' (situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 474-475, accessed in Gallica 18 August 2013 *

, cantons:

Colorno Colorno (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italy, Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about north of Parma. Colorno borders the following municipal ...

Corniglio Corniglio ( Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. Corniglio borders the following municipalities: Bagnone, Berceto ...

, San Donato, Fornovo, Langhirano,

San Pancrazio The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta S ...

(2 cantons),

Poviglio Poviglio (Mantovano: ; Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Reggio Emilia. Poviglio borders the following mun ...

Sissa The International School for Advanced Studies (Italian: ''Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati''; SISSA) is an international, state-supported, post-graduate-education and research institute in Trieste, Italy. SISSA is active in th ...

, Traversetolo and Vairo. *

(french: Plaisance), cantons:

Agazzano Agazzano ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italy, Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. Agazzano borders the following municipalities: ...

, Bettola, Borgonovo,

Castel San Giovanni Castel San Giovanni ( Piacentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The origins of the town are probably related to an ancient '' pieve'' called ''Olubra'' and a fortress called ''Castellus ...

, Pianello,

(2 cantons),

Ponte dell'Olio Ponte dell'Olio ( egl, label= Piacentino, Al Pont da l'Oli ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about south of Piacenza, about south of Milan and about northwest of Bologna. A ...

Pontenure Pontenure ( egl, label= Piacentino, Pontnür ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southeast of Piacenza. Pontenure borders the following ...

Rivergaro Rivergaro ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. As of 31 December 2011, it had a population of 6,843 an ...

and Rottofreno. * Borgo San Donnino, cantons: Bardi, Borgo San Donnino,

, Carpaneto,

Cortemaggiore Cortemaggiore ( Piacentino: ) is an Italian ''comune'' located in the Province of Piacenza. Cortemaggiore is located in the northern Italy about from Milan and from Bologna, in the Pianura Padana. The municipality borders with Fiorenzuola d'Ar ...

, Fiorenzuola,

Fontanellato Fontanellato (Parmigiano dialect, Parmigiano: ) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the Autostrada A1 (Italy), A1 autostrada, about west of Parma towards Piacenza. The town was ...

, Lugagnano, Monticelli, Noceto, Pellegrino, San Secondo and Zibello. Its population in 1812 was 376,558, and its area was approximately 502,236 hectares.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taro (Department) Former departments of France in Italy 1808 establishments in the First French Empire Duchy of Parma