Mirandola ( Mirandolese: ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

'' of

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 ...

, in the

Province of Modena The province of Modena () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in th ...

, northeast of the

provincial capital A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational division, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encomp ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

History

Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress. For four centuries it was the seat of an independent principality (first a county, then a duchy), a possession of the Pico family, whose most outstanding member was the polymath

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia ( ; ; ; 24 February 146317 November 1494), known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, ...

(1463–94). It was besieged two times: in 1510 by Pope Julius II and in 1551 by Pope Julius III. It was acquired by the

Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between "sovereign ...

in 1710. The city started to decay after the castle of Mirandola was partially destroyed in 1714. On 29 May 2012, a powerful earthquake hit the Mirandola area. It killed at least 17 people and collapsed churches and factories. Also 200 were injured. The 5.8 magnitude quake left 14,000 people homeless.Dailystar, 17 dead and 200 injured in latest killer quake in northern Italy, May 30, 2012 12:40 AM, By Colleen Barry
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Main sights

* The Palazzo del Comune is a 1468 edifice of Gothic style (largely restored in the 19th century), with the portraits of the Pico and other artworks, including an ''Adoration of the Magi'' once attributed to

Palma il Giovane Iacopo Negretti (1548/50 – 14 October 1628), best known as Jacopo or Giacomo Palma il Giovane or simply Palma Giovane ('Young Palma'), was an Italian painter from Venice and a notable exponent of the Venetian school. After Tintoretto's death ...

. *The castle of the Pico family has been recently restored and it is now open to the public. * Palazzo della Ragione, in late Gothic style. * Palazzo Bergomi (15th century) * The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore (known also as ''

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. The Duomo of Monza, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definitio ...

'' or ''Collegiata''), dating from the end of the 15th century, has been restored. * The Church of St. Francis is a fine Gothic church. It houses the tombs of the Pico family, including that of Prendiparte Pico (14th century). Collapsed during the second of the 2012 Emilia earthquakes. * The Baroque Church of Jesus (1690). * Teatro Nuovo, opera house and theater built in 1905 and renovated in 2005. * Stadio Libero Lolli, sport venue

Notable people

* Achille Salata, 19th-century sculptor Giovanni Pico della Mirandola https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Pico_della_Mirandola

Twin cities

Ostfildern Ostfildern (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Oschtfilder'') is a town in the Esslingen (district), district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located approximately 8 km southeast of Stuttgart. It was formed in 1975 ou ...

, Germany *

Villejuif Villejuif () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Name The earliest reference to Villejuif appears in a bill signed by the Pope Callixtus II on 27 November 1119. It refers to Villa J ...

, France

Sources

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Castles in Italy