Castel San Giovanni ( Piacentino: ) is a town and ''

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 ...

'' in the

province of Piacenza The province of Piacenza () is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Piacenza. As of 2016, it has a total population of 286,572 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density of 111.38 ...

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

The origins of the town are probably related to an ancient ''

pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

'' called ''Olubra'' and a

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

called ''Castellus Milonus'', which preceded the construction of a new

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

by Alberto Scoto in 1290 (now also disappeared). After a period under the Dal Verme family of lords-condottieri, it became part of the

Duchy of Parma and Piacenza The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) 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 family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his so ...

in 1485.

Main sights

* The ''Collegiata di San Giovanni Battista'' (14th century), with Baroque portals and a 1496 crucifix by Giacomo del Maino and his son Giovanni Angelo. * Church of ''San Giovanni Battista'' (12th century) * '' Villa Braghieri-Albesani'' (18th century), with several frescoed rooms.

Famous people

Agostino Casaroli Agostino Casaroli (24 November 1914 – 9 June 1998) was an Italian Catholic priest and diplomat for the Holy See, who became Cardinal Secretary of State. He was an important figure behind the Vatican's efforts to deal with the religious persec ...

, Catholic cardinal *

Pippo Santonastaso Giuseppe "Pippo" Santonastaso (born 25 May 1936) is an Italian actor and comedian. Life and career Born in Castel San Giovanni, Piacenza, to a Neapolitan family, Santonastaso created an original comic duo with his younger brother Mario (1937 � ...

, Italian actor * Bongiorni Matteo, Italian institution

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Castel San Giovanni is twinned with: *

Slunj Slunj is a town in the mountainous part of Central Croatia, located along the important North-South route to the Adriatic Sea between Karlovac and Plitvice Lakes National Park, on the meeting of the rivers Korana and Slunjčica. Slunj has a popu ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Dunellen, New Jersey Dunellen () is a borough in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located within the Raritan Valley region of central New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,637, an increase of 410 ...

, United Stateshttps://www.dunellen-nj.gov/about_dunellen/sister_city_val_tidone_italy.php. Borough of Dunellen Official Website

References

Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub