Carpi (; ) is an Italian town and '' comune'' of about 71,000 inhabitants in the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna. It is a busy centre for industrial and craft activities and for cultural and commercial exchanges.

History

The name "Carpi" is derived from ''carpinus betulus'', a hornbeam tree particularly widespread in medieval times in the Po valley region. In Prehistoric times it was a settlement of the Villanovan Culture. The foundation by the Lombard king Aistulf of St. Mary's church in the castle (''Castrum Carpi'') in 752 was the first step in the current settlement of the city. From 1319 to 1525 it was ruled by the

Pio family Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1988), B ...

, after whom it was acquired by the Este, as part of the Duchy of Modena. The city received a Silver Medal for Military Valour in recognition of its participation in the resistance against the German occupation during World War II. The town has one of the largest squares in all Italy (3rd place), the heart of the city, Piazza dei Martiri. It is surrounded by the castle, the cathedral, the town hall and a 52 arches long portico. Usually every Thursday and Saturday the square hosts the local market. Carpi used to be the finishing point of the annual

Italian Marathon The Italian Marathon memorial Enzo Ferrari (Italian name: Maratona d’Italia memorial Enzo Ferrari) is an annual marathon race in the Province of Modena, Italy which begins in Maranello and finishes in Carpi. Its inaugural event was held in 1988. ...

, which begins in nearby Maranello. Almost 1000 athletes enter the senior men's and women's race which has been held every year since 1988 in honor of Dorando Pietri, a long distance runner born in Carpi that lost his Olympic Gold Medal for being helped to stand up after a fall near the finish line.

The area was crippled in the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, earthquakes of May 2012.

Title

As a titular Duke of Modena, the current holder of the title of "Prince of Carpi" would be Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este.

Geography

Located in the northern area of its province, at the borders with the one

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, Carpi borders with the municipalities of Campogalliano, Cavezzo, Correggio ( RE), Fabbrico (RE),

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

, Novi di Modena,

Rio Saliceto Rio Saliceto ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Reggio Emilia. The name derives from the canal (''Rio''), ...

(RE), Rolo (RE),

San Prospero San Prospero ( Carpigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) ...

and

Soliera Soliera ( Modenese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about north of Modena. Soliera borders the following municipalities: Bastiglia, Bomp ...

. It counts the hamlets ('' frazioni'') of Budrione, Cantone di Gargallo, Cibeno Pile, Cortile,

Fossoli Fossoli () is an Italian village and hamlet (''frazione'') of Carpi, a city and municipality of the province of Modena, Emilia-Romagna. It is infamous for the homonym concentration camp and has a population of about 4400. History Born as a rura ...

, Gargallo, Lama di Quartirolo, Migliarina, Osteriola, San Marino, San Martino Secchia and Santa Croce.Municipal statute of Carpi
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Demographics

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:530 height:400 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:75000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2015 text:2015 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from:0 till:16698 bar:1871 from:0 till:17913 bar:1881 from:0 till:18856 bar:1901 from:0 till:22876 bar:1911 from:0 till:27465 bar:1921 from:0 till:30880 bar:1931 from:0 till:33823 bar:1936 from:0 till:34189 bar:1951 from:0 till:37643 bar:1961 from:0 till:45208 bar:1971 from:0 till:55099 bar:1981 from:0 till:60614 bar:1991 from:0 till:60715 bar:2001 from:0 till:61476 bar:2011 from:0 till:67268 bar:2015 from:0 till:70644 PlotData= bar:1861 at: 16698 fontsize:S text:16,698 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at: 17913 fontsize:S text:17,913 shift:(-10,5) bar:1881 at: 18856 fontsize:S text:18,856 shift:(-10,5) bar:1901 at: 22876 fontsize:S text:22,876 shift:(-10,5) bar:1911 at: 27465 fontsize:S text:27,465 shift:(-10,5) bar:1921 at: 30880 fontsize:S text:30,880 shift:(-10,5) bar:1931 at: 33823 fontsize:S text:33,823 shift:(-10,5) bar:1936 at: 34189 fontsize:S text:34,189 shift:(-10,5) bar:1951 at: 37643 fontsize:S text:37,643 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 45208 fontsize:S text:45,208 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 55099 fontsize:S text:55,099 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 60614 fontsize:S text:60,614 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 60715 fontsize:S text:60,715 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at: 61476 fontsize:S text:61,476 shift:(-10,5) bar:2011 at: 67268 fontsize:S text:67,268 shift:(-10,5) bar:2015 at: 70644 fontsize:S text:70,644 shift:(-10,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Source ISTAT

Main sights

Carpi is distinguished by its great Renaissance square ( piazza), called Piazza Martiri https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g670816-d4380076-Reviews-Piazza_dei_Martiri-Carpi_Province_of_Modena_Emilia_Romagna.html the largest in the region. It is flanked by a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

with 52 columns. Other notable landmarks include: *Town hall (''Palazzo dei Pio'') - formerly the castle of the Pio family. It includes parts from different ages, such as the merloned-tower of Passerino Bonaccolsi, the Renaissance façade and the tower of

Galasso Pio Galasso is both an Italian surname and a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Alessio Galasso (born 1974), French rugby union player *Bob Galasso (born 1952), American baseball player *Frankie J. Galasso, Am ...

, and the 17th century watch tower. It includes a chapel frescoed by

Bernardino Loschi Bernardino Loschi (1460 – 1540) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. Born in Parma, he was the son of the painter Jacopo Loschi, and is known to have worked for Alberto III Pio, Prince of Carpi, from 1500 onwards. He was assigned by the ...

and Vincenzo Catena. * Carpi Cathedral - Originally designed by Baldassarre Peruzzi, drawings for it are located in the Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe in the Uffizi, Florence, and document Peruzzi's contact with Leonardo da Vinci.Parsons, "Between Typology and Geometry, Designs by Baldassarre Peruzzi for Carpi Cathedral," ''Romisches Jahrbuch der Biblioteca Hertziana'' (Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 2005), band 35, pp. 287-326. Construction begun 1514, Baroque façade added in 1701 and cupola completed 1774). *Church of Santa Maria in Castello or ''La Sagra'' - façade (1514) designed by Peruzzi . *Church of Santa Chiara *Church of Santissimo Crocifisso *Church of San Bernardino Realino *Church of

San Bernardino da Siena Bernardino of Siena, OFM (8 September 138020 May 1444), also known as Bernardine, was an Italian priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of Scholastic economics. His preaching, his book burnings, and his " bon ...

*Church of San Nicolò, Carpi *Church of Sant'Ignazio- home of the Museum of the Diocese of Carpi *Church of San Francesco d'Assisi

Sports

The biggest football team in Carpi is Carpi FC 1909 who play in the 5510 capacity Stadio Sandro Cabassi. Carpi FC 1909 played in Serie B during the 2013–14 season, achieving a 12th-place finish ensuring second tier football remained in the town for another season. On April 28, 2015, the club clinched promotion to Serie A for the first time in its history. On 2016 the born in Carpi world champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri won Gold Medal on 1 500 free style at Brazil Olympics.

Notable people

* Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (1460-1530), physician * Ermes Effron Borgnino, known as Ernest Borgnine (1917 - 2012), U.S. actor, was the son of Anna Boselli (1894–1949) who was born in Carpi *

Camilla Pio di Savoia Camilla Pio di Savoia (c. 1440 – 1504) was born an Italian noblewoman and later founded the first female monastery in Carpi, Italy, Santa Chiara, of which she was elected abbess. Her ''Cause for Canonization'' has been opened. Life Camilla w ...

, (1440-1504) founder of Santa Chiara at Carpi * Liliana Cavani (born 1933), film director and screenwriter *

Alida Chelli Alida Chelli (23 October 1943 – 14 December 2012) was an Italian singer, and actress. She was mainly known for her appearances in stage musicals. Biography Born in Carpi as Alida Rustichelli, Chelli was daughter of composer Carlo Rustichelli a ...

(1943-2012), actress * Roberto Corradi (born 1975), former footballer * Ciro Menotti (1798-1831), patriot * Gregorio Paltrinieri (born 1994), swimmer *

Galasso I Pio Galasso I Pio (died March 13, 1367) was the lord of Carpi, Italy from 1348 until his death. A member of the Pio family, he was the son of Manfredo I Pio, from whom he inherited the lordship. In 1359 he was also appointed captain of the people of ...

(d.1367), Prince of Carpi * Alberto III Pio (1475-1531), prince and humanist *

Rodolfo Pio da Carpi Rodolfo Pio da Carpi (22 February 1500 – 2 May 1564) was an Italian Cardinal, humanist and patron of the arts. The nephew of a diplomat, he himself became a diplomat by the age of thirty, and came to know both Emperor Charles V and King Fra ...

(1500-1564), cardinal and humanist * Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714), physician * Carlo Rustichelli (1916-2004), composer * (1950-2007), fashion photographer

References

External links

Carpi official websiteCarpi
at Emilia Romagna Turismo (in English) {{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Castles in Italy Villanovan culture