Fusignano () 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 ...

'' in the

province of Ravenna The province of Ravenna (; ) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna. As of 2015, it has a population of 391,997 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density of 210.81 inhabitants pe ...

(

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 ...

) in

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 ...

. It is located on the river Senio.

History

The city was created in 1250 by count Bernardino of Cunio after a flood which had destroyed his castle at Donigallia. After several passages of property in the hands of local noble families, the castle of Fusignano was transferred to the Este family in 1445. When the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara (; ; ) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part ...

was annexed to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

(1598), the fief was elevated to a marquisate, which in 1622, after a long struggle with the Corelli family, was acquired by the Calcagnini. In the 18th century the city recovered from a dark period, and in 1796 became part of the French dominions. In 1815 it returned to the Papal States. With the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

(1860), Fusignano was separated from Ferrara and included in the province of Ravenna. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as part of the

Spring 1945 offensive in Italy The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allies of World War II, Allied attack during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack in the Lom ...

, Fusignano was for four months on the front line, and reduced to ruins. One soldier Ali Haidar was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for his actions here during

Main sights

The church of San Giovanni Battista houses a 16th-century pale portraying the ''Baptism of Christ''. In the church of San Savino the ancient sepulchre of the namesake saint, one of the first evangelizers of Romagna, can be seen: however, the relics it contained were transferred by Astorre II Manfredi to a chapel in the Cathedral of

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 ...

Twin towns

Fusignano is twinned with: *

Biddulph Biddulph is a town in Staffordshire, England, north of Stoke-on-Trent and south-east of Congleton, Cheshire. Origin of the name Biddulph's name may come from Old English language, Anglo-Saxon/Old English ''bī dylfe'' = "beside the pit or q ...

, United Kingdom

Personalities

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...

(1653 in Fusignano – 1713) Italian

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

player and Baroque

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

* Lea Melandri (born 1941 in Fusignano) feminist and writer *

Arrigo Sacchi Arrigo Sacchi (born 1 April 1946) is an Italian former professional football coach, best known for having twice managed AC Milan. Sacchi is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time, and his Milan side (1987–1991) is widely regarded ...

(born 1946 in Fusignano) Italian football manager, The Guardian, 22 November 2011, Arrigo Sacchi, the magician of Milan....
retrieved 19 February 2018

References

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