Emilia-Romagna and Bologna, Italy

Emilia-Romagna (Italy)

Emilia-Romagna is in the north of Italy locatedregion. It is located directly on the Po, and borders the Adriatic Sea to the east. The south is on the Apennines and the Republic of San Marino. The capital of Emilia-Romagna is Bologna.

The naming of the regionEmilia-Romagna

For centuries, the eastern part with its area on the Adriaticto the Papal States. The name of the Emilia-Romagna region comes from the Lombard period. Here the people living at that time separated the area of ​​the Romania from the Langorbadia. The Roman Via Aemilia, the road that runs through the area, gave the region its name. Emilia formed the eighth administrative unit under Augustus. Later, a common region, Emilia-Romagna, emerged from both areas.

The history of Emilia-Romagna

During the period of Byzantine rule, Ravenna became to the seat of the Exarchate. The entire area was called Romania by the Lombards. For 200 years the Lombards tried again and again to subdue the area around Ravenna, but with no success. Later Pippin took over the leadership and handed the region over to the papacy in 755. In that year the area was renamed Romagna and has since been part of the Papal States. The Emilia however, remained independent. This also means that the two histories of the parts differ from one another. While Emilia was an independent Italian city-state, Romagna was ruled by the Papal States for centuries.

Romagna’s territory went to Nicholas III in 1278 . This took advantage of the collapse of the papal state. Cardinal Albornoz tried to maintain the papal state, but as early as 1353 this rule could only be described as nominal. When Cesare Borgia came to power and had all the princes of Romagna eliminated, the story took a turn. Cesare Borgia was the biological son of Alexander VI. He wanted to found his own dynasty and considered the Romagna region to be perfect for it. When Alexander died, his successors took over the papacy to pursue Boriga’s policy. This made the cities of Romagna subordinate to the papacy. All cities were administered by legates.
The story of Emilia is just as interesting. This region was made up of various principalities. While these principalities and duchies were ruled by the respective noble families, Parma and Piacenza were under the leadership of the Farnese in the 16th century. The Pope Paul III. sent his biological son Pier Luigi there in 1545 and entrusted him with various tasks. When the Farnese branch of the family died out in 1731, a lineage of the Spanish Bourbons was installed as rulers.
In 1769 the Emilia-Romagna region was founded. By 1814 the area became part of the Italian Republic. Napoleon later followed and divided Emilia-Romagna into the Napoleonic Italian Kingdom.

The old conditions were restored as early as 1815. Emilia-Romagna was again a part of the Papal States and ruled by the Church. Bad times followed in Romagna. The government there was repressive. She judged arbitrarily and was accompanied by corruption. Several riots followed. These revolts were brutally suppressed. In 1859 the region became part of the Kingdom of Italy with almost no resistance.

Bologna (Italy)

The city of Bologna has 375,000 residents and is located in Italy. The university city is an important traffic point in the country. The Reno and Savena rivers run around Bologna. There is also the city at the foot of the Apennines. The capital of the Emilia-Romagna region is also the capital of the province of Bologna.

History of the city of Bologna

Scientific excavations uncovered the remains of settlements in the region of today’s city of Bologna from the 11th century BC. Chr. The founding of the actual city probably goes back to the 6th century BC. BC back. At that time the city was an Estonian town with the name Felsina. Felsina was conquered by the Celtic Boier as early as the 4th century. A few centuries later, around 191 BC. Chr. came the Romans and seized power. When in 187 BC When the Via Aemilia road was completed, the city’s economic rise began. Because here the streets converged and so today’s Bologna became the traffic junction, which it has remained to this day. Emperor Nero had to completely rebuild the city because a fire had destroyed most of the city.

Today it is assumed that at least 12,000 to even 30,000 people lived in Bologna during the Roman Empire. Numerous temples, thermal baths and theaters as well as an amphitheater have been found from that time. At that time, Bologna was one of the five richest cities in Italy.

But a slow descent followed. Bologna only regained its boom in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. Over time, the city grew into a real bulwark and when the Roman Empire ended, there were several wall rings around the city. In 728 the Lombards conquered the city of Bologna under their king Liutprand. Immediately they incorporated Bologna into the Longobard Empire. In addition, they founded a new district, which is known to this day as Addizione Longobarda.

Bologna was the first city in Europe to set up its own university. The studio was founded in 1088, making it the oldest university in Europe. Many important scholars of the Middle Ages studied here and taught the following generations. The city limits also grew with the city. In the 12th century, the construction of another wall ring, which was not completed until the 14th century, began.

In the centuries that followed, Bologna continued to be extremely progressive. In 1164, for example, the Lombard League was concluded, which was directed against Frederick I Barbarossa. In 1256, Bologna proclaimed the Legge del Paradiso, the so-called Paradise Law. This officially abolished body domination and slavery! Bologna bought the slaves free from their bondage with public money.
With up to 70,000 residents, Bologna became one of the largest cities in Europe. In the city center there was a real forest of towers. It is assumed that there were up to 180 gender towers, church towers and towers of public buildings here.

In 1248 Bologna banned the export of wheat. The aim was to secure the supply of food for the rapidly growing population. In doing so, Bologna virtually expropriated the Venetian landowners and the monasteries.

The population continued to rise, but around 30,000 people died during the plague. From the 16th century to the 18th century, Bologna was part of the Papal States. At the beginning of the 20th century, they had to make room for the growing population, and apart from a few remains, the old city walls were torn down.