Borgo Tossignano () is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Bologna The province of 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 inhabitants as of 31 December 2014 ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, located about southeast of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. Borgo Tossignano borders the following municipalities:

Casalfiumanese Casalfiumanese () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna. Casalfiumanese borders the following municipalities: Borgo Tossignano, Castel del Rio ...

, Casola Valsenio, Fontanelice,

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

Riolo Terme Riolo Terme ( or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southwest of Ravenna. The main attraction of the town are the termal baths. History U ...

History

The area around Borgo Tossignano had been inhabited for many centuries, with the first settlers probably being from the

Villanovian civilization The Villanovan culture (–700 BCE), 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 Urnfield cultu ...

. It was then settled by the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

, and

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...

, which long resisted the Roman invasion of the area. The Romans later constructed a strategic defensive fortification on a gypsum edge. During medieval times, the area was a fortified centre named ''Castrum Thausignanum'' (or ''Tauxignano''), documented in 873. It attempted to revolt against its feudal owner,

, which destroyed it in 966 and later rebuilt it. In 1005, the governor was Albert of Tossignano, who reigned under Florentine protection. The Florentines attempted many times to conquest the area and remove the Imolese control between 1005 and 1070. Around that time, there was a Pieve dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, whose archpriest was the first vicar general of the Santerno valley. The local plebeiate then was passed over to Imola, under the control of its diocese in 1126. The area was also involved in the Guelph and Ghibelline wars, which saw the Guelph armies destroying the castle, deporting several inhabitants to Fontana Elice. The area was then abandoned by those who still resided e eventually settled at the bottom of the valley, creating Borgo.

then governed the area between 1198 and the early 1300s, reconstructing the castle in 1264 following a victory over Frederick II. The castle, which had returned to its status of vicariate, was then given as a feudal concession to the Alidosi family of Imola until 1424, with Alidosio degli Alidosi being the first governor in 1365. The area was then administered over the following years by: *Alberico da Barbiano (1404-1408); *Ludovico degli Alidosi (1408-1424); * Guidaccio and Taddeo Manfredi from

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

(1424-1473); * Riario-Sforza Family from

(1473-1499); *

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

(1500-1503); *

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

(1503-1505); *Ricciardo Alidosi from

Castel del Rio Castel may refer to the following places: In France Castel is the Occitan word for the Latin '' Castrum'' (small caserna military castrum) and occurs very often in southern France toponyms especially mixed with the adjective ''nau'' (which means ...

, Ramazzotto dei Ramazzotti from Scaricalasino, the Carafa Family from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, and the nephews of

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV (; ; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559), born Gian Pietro Carafa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death, in August 1559. While serving as papal nuncio in Spain, he developed ...

(1506-1560); *Count Federico Borromei (1560-1565); *The Altemps Family from Germany (1565-1700): they were the family who held the area for the longest time, built the Church of San Michele and repaired the walls; *The Marquis Spada from

(1700-1757); *Marquis Francesco Martelli Tartagni from

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

(1757-1797), removed from power during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

History

Twin towns — sister cities

References

External links