Cento (; Northern Bolognese: ; City Bolognese: ; Centese: ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 Ferrara The province of Ferrara (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Italy, Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. Its capital is the city of Ferrara. As of May 2023, it has a population of 338,143 inhabitants over an area of . The province contains ...

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 name Cento is a reference to the

centuriation Centuriation (in Latin ''centuriatio'' or, more usually, ''limitatio''), also known as Roman grid, was a method of land measurement used by the Romans. In many cases land divisions based on the survey formed a field system, often referred to in m ...

of the

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...

. Cento's growth from its origin as a little fishing village in the marshes to an established farming town took place in the first few centuries in the second

millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

. The

Bishop of Bologna The Archdiocese of Bologna (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Italy. The cathedra is in the cathedral church of San Pietro, Bologna. The current archbishop is Cardinal Matteo Zu ...

and the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Nonantola Nonantola ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is in the Po Valley about from Modena on the road to Ferrara. History In ancient times the territory of Nonantola was in ...

established the Partecipanza Agraria, an institution in which land would perpetually be redistributed every twenty years among the male heirs of the families who constituted the initial core of the community in the 12th century. In 1502,

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

took it away from the dominion of the Bishop of Bologna and made it part of the

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

of his daughter

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was an Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She was a former governor of Spoleto. Her family arranged ...

, betrothed to Duke

Alfonso I d'Este Alfonso d'Este (21 July 1476 – 31 October 1534) was Duke of Ferrara from 1504 to 1534, during the time of the War of the League of Cambrai. Biography He was the son of Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara and Eleanor of Naples and became du ...

. It was later returned 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 ...

in 1598. South-east of the city lies the small historic fortification of

Pieve di Cento Pieve di Cento ( Bolognese: ; "parish of Cento") is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about north of Bologna. History The origins of the town date back to the upper ...

Main sights

*''Palazzo del Monte di Pietà'' (18th century), housing the Civic Gallery. It has paintings by the local artist

Guercino Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as (il) Guercino (), was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia region, who was active in Rome and Bologna. The vigorous n ...

. The latter's works can be seen also in the ''Basilica Collegiata San Biagio'', ''Santa Maria dei Servi'', the church of the Rosary, also designed by him, and, in the ''

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 ...

'' of Corporeno, the 14th-century church of ''San Giorgio''. *The ''Rocca'' (Castle), a massive square building with square towers. Built in 1378 by the bishop of Bologna, it was enlarged by Giulio della Rovere, the future pope

Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

, in 1460. *''Palazzo del Governatore'' (Governor's Palace, 1502). It is home to the ''

Galleria d'arte moderna Aroldo Bonzagni The Galleria d'arte moderna Aroldo Bonzagni is an Italian museum, located in Cento. It was founded in 1959 in memory of the local painter Aroldo Bonzagni, who died in 1918 at only thirty years of age. Collection The museum collection is focused ...

''. *''Porta Pieve'' (14th century), the sole surviving gate of the four once existing. *

Santa Maria Maddalena The Santa Maria Maddalena is a Roman Catholic, Catholic church in Rome, Italy dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. It is the conventual church of the adjacent General Curia of the Clerks Regular, Ministers to the Sick (Camillians), the world headqu ...

, Baroque style 17th-century Roman Catholic church

Culture

Cento is the European's city of Carnival and it is twinned with

Rio carnival The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro'') is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest celebration of Carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first ...

People

Marco Zoppo Marco Zoppo (1433 – 19 February 1498) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active mainly in Bologna. He was born in Cento. He was a pupil of the painter Lippo Dalmasio then for a few years with Francesco Squarcione around 1455. H ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

* Benedetto Gennari, painter * Cesare Cremonini,

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

* Giovan Francesco Barbieri best known as Il Guercino, painter *

Bartolomeo Gennari Bartolomeo Gennari (10 July 1594 – 29 January 1661) was an Italian Renaissance painter. His painting style is consistent with the Bolognese School (painting), Bolognese School of painting. Biography Gennari was the son of the painter Benedett ...

, painter * Ercole Gennari, painter *

Benedetto Gennari II Benedetto Gennari II (October 19, 1633 – December 9, 1715) was an Italian painter active during the Baroque period. Biography Belonging to a dynasty of painters, Gennari was a student of Guercino, the grandson of Benedetto Gennari, and old ...

, painter *

Cesare Gennari Cesare Gennari (12 December 1637 – 11 February 1688) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. His ''Saint Mary Magdalene'' is in the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento. His ''Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Nicholas of Bari'' is at the Pinacotec ...

, painter * Benjamin D'Israeli, grandfather of British Prime Minister

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

Antonio Lamberto Rusconi Antonio Lamberto Rusconi, J.U.D. (19 June 1743 – 1 August 1825) was an Italian cardinal who served as bishop of Imola. Rusconi was born in Cento within the archdiocese of Bologna of a patrician family. He was the son of Domenico Bartolome ...

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Bartolomeo Campagnoli Bartolomeo Campagnoli (September 10, 1751 – November 6, 1827) was an Italian violinist and composer. Campagnoli was a virtuoso violinist who toured Europe propagating the 18th Century Italian violin style. He also has a number of compositions t ...

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 ...

ist * Giuseppe Alberghini, cardinal *

Ugo Bassi Ugo Bassi (12 August 1800 – 8 August 1849) was a Roman Catholic priest and Italian nationalist. Bassi was born at Cento, Emilia-Romagna, and received his early education at University of Bologna. An unhappy love affair induced him to become a ...

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

Leone Carpi Leone Carpi (1810 or 1820 in Bologna, Italy – 1898) was a Jewish Italian political economist and journalist who took part in the struggles of the ''Risorgimento''. In 1849 he was prominent in the defense of the Roman Republic. After its fall, ...

, political, economist and journalist *

Giuseppe Borgatti Giuseppe Borgatti (Cento, 17 March 1871 – Reno di Leggiuno, 18 October 1950) was an Italian dramatic tenor with an outstanding voice. (See Michael Scott, cited below, for a laudatory appraisal of his singing.) The creator of the title role i ...

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Aroldo Bonzagni Aroldo Bonzagni (24 September 1887 – 30 December 1918) was a Painting, painter, draftsman, and illustrator born in Cento, Italy. He moved to Milan to attend the ''Accademia di Brera'' on a scholarship, joining the ranks of avant-garde artists ...

, painter *

Carmen Lenzi Mozzani ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

, classical guitarist *

Mario Maccaferri Mario Maccaferri (1900–1993) was an Italian luthier, classical guitarist, businessman, and inventor. He is noted for designing the guitar favored by jazz musician Django Reinhardt, and for designing plastic clothespins, plastic bath and kitchen ...

, classical guitarist, lutist as well as guitar and ukulele maker *

Giovanni Malagodi Giovanni Francesco Malagodi (12 October 1904 – 17 April 1991) was an Italian liberal politician, secretary of the Italian Liberal Party (''Partito Liberale Italiano''; PLI), and president of the Italian Senate. He was the third and sixth Pres ...

, politician and economist *

Ferruccio Lamborghini Ferruccio Lamborghini ( ; ; 28 April 1916 – 20 February 1993) was an Italian automobile designer, soldier, inventor, mechanic, engineer, winemaker, industrialist, and businessman who created Lamborghini Trattori in 1948 and the Lamborghini, ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

Corrado Ardizzoni Corrado Ardizzoni (23 February 1916 – 14 March 1980) was an Italian cyclist. He competed in the individual and team road race events at the 1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () ...

, Olympic

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

Jessica Rossi Jessica Rossi (born 7 January 1992) is a female Italian sports shooter. She has won Olympic gold and three world titles in the women's trap event. Biography She took up shooting in 2001. Her father Ivan had also competed in shooting for Italy ...

sports shooter Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

* Luigi Mozzani, classical guitarist as well as guitar and violin maker

Trivia

The nearby center of Renazzo is known in the astronomical community because of the Renazzo meteorite, which fell in 1824 and it is considered the prototype of a class of

carbonaceous chondrites Carbonaceous chondrites or C chondrites are a class of chondritic meteorites comprising at least 8 known groups and many ungrouped meteorites. They include some of the most primitive known meteorites. The C chondrites represent only a small propor ...

known as " CR group" (where the "R" comes from the name Renazzo).
Meteoritical Bulletin Database

International relations

Cento is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: *

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

, Italy *

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Hungary * Vicente Lopez, Argentina

References

External links

*
Official website

{{Authority control Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Municipalities of the Province of Ferrara Lucrezia Borgia