Monteveglio (''Muntvì'' or ''Måntvî'' in the western

Bolognese dialect Bolognese (native name: ) is a dialect of Emilian spoken in the most part in the city of Bologna and its hinterland (except east of the Sillaro stream), but also in the district of Castelfranco Emilia in the province of Modena, and in the ...

) is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' (village) in the ''

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) of

Valsamoggia Valsamoggia ( Bolognese: ) is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It was created on 1 January 2014 after the merger of the former communes of Bazzano (the current town hall seat), Castello di Serravalle, Cre ...

. It is located about west 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 ...

, near the Samoggia River, 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 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 ...

. It was an independent ''comune'' until 2014, when it merged with the neighboring municipalities of

Bazzano, Valsamoggia Bazzano is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Valsamoggia in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna. It was an independent commune until 2014. In this ''frazione ...

, Castello di Serravalle,

Crespellano Crespellano is a ''frazione'' of ''comune'' (municipality) of Valsamoggia in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna. The main attraction is the ''Palazzo Garagnani'', a former patr ...

, and

Savigno Savigno is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Valsamoggia in the Province of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southwest of Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emil ...

. Monteveglio's main attractions are its

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 ...

of Santa Maria and Oratory of San Rocco.

Etymology

The name ''Monteveglio'' may have come from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''mons belli,'' "mountain of war". However, though phonetically feasible, this view lacks documentary evidence, and archaeologically there is no evidence of Roman fortification or a garrison in the area. More likely is that ''Monteveglio'' is a corruption of ''Montebello'', "beautiful mountain".

History

Ancient era

The lands surrounding the Samoggia River have been inhabited since the

Neolithic era The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, as evidenced by archaeological finds now visible in the Archaeological Museum of Bazzano. Settlement at Monteveglio, however, only certainly dates back to the 1st century AD. At this time, there were

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

villas in the area of the modern abbey. Very little remains of them. Only one building in the village today bears the remains of Roman facades and

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Monteveglio, along with other settlements, became part of a system of fortifications between the

Samoggia The Samoggia is a river in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The source of the river is in the province of Modena near Zocca. The river flows northeast into the Metropolitan City of Bologna and flows near Bazzano, Crespellano, Piumazzo, Anz ...

and Panaro rivers, protecting inner Italy from the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

until the final conquest of Liutprand in 727. In 728, Monteveglio joined the

Duchy of Persiceta The Duchy of Persiceta (or Persiceto) in the Kingdom of the Lombards was created on territory taken from the Byzantine Empire by King Liutprand in 728. It comprised two '' pagi'' ("counties"): Monteveglio south of the Via Aemilia and Persiceto to ...

. In the 11th century, Monteveglio was fundamental in Countess Matilda of Tuscany's desperate resistance to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV's invasion of Italy, after his humiliating defeat to

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his excom ...

. Supposedly, it was the death of the Emperor's son in the battle at Monteveglio that proved the strength of the papal forces and prompted the invaders to retreat.

21st century

In 2008, Monteveglio was the first Italian municipality to be recognized as a

transition town The terms transition town, transition initiative and transition model refer to grassroots, grassroot community projects that aim to increase self-sufficiency to reduce the potential effects of peak oil, Global warming, climate destruction, and eco ...

. Since 2009, it has been part of the Union of Common Samoggia Valleys. On 25 November 2012, a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

was held, proposing merging Monteveglio with the neighbouring municipalities of Bazzano, Castello di Serravalle, Crespellano, and Savigno. The result was a "yes" vote of 51.5%. On 1 January 2014 the municipality of

was established.

Geography

Monteveglio is located in the Bolognese

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

. The territory is hilly, characterized by extensive forest cover alternating with arable land. There are also

badland Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes ...

areas characterized by intense erosion. Over the last century, Monteveglio expanded onto the foot of the 260-meter hill on which its abbey and medieval fortifications are located. "Abbey Hill" and the surrounding 900 hectares constitute the "Monteveglio Abbey Regional Park", which is rich in local wildlife, especially birds.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Valsamoggia