Cento

Cento
Comune
Comune di Cento
Castle (Rocca) of Cento.

Coat of arms
Cento
Location of Cento in Italy
Coordinates: 44°44′N 11°17′E / 44.733°N 11.283°E / 44.733; 11.283Coordinates: 44°44′N 11°17′E / 44.733°N 11.283°E / 44.733; 11.283
Country Italy
Region Emilia-Romagna
Province Ferrara (FE)
Frazioni Alberone, Buonacompra, Casumaro, Corporeno, Molino Albergati, Pilastrello, Renazzo, Reno Centese, XII Morelli
Government
 • Mayor Fabrizio Toselli
Area
 • Total 64 km2 (25 sq mi)
Elevation 15 m (49 ft)
Population (31 December 2014)
 • Total 35,837
 • Density 560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Centesi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 44042
Dialing code 051
Patron saint St. Blaise Bishop and Martyr
Saint day February 3
Website Official website

Cento (Northern Bolognese: Zèint; City Bolognese: Zänt; Centese: Zènt) is a town and comune in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

History

The name Cento is a reference to the centuriation of the Po Valley. 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.

The Bishop of Bologna and the Abbot of Nonantola 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.[1]

In 1502 Pope Alexander VI took it away from the dominion of the Bishop of Bologna and made it part of the dowry of his daughter Lucrezia Borgia, betrothed to Duke Alfonso I d'Este and was later returned to the Papal States in 1598.

South-east of the city lies the small historic fortification of Pieve di Cento.

Main sights

  • Palazzo del Monte di Pietà (18th century), housing the Civic Gallery. It has paintings by the local artist Guercino. 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 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, in 1460.
  • Palazzo del Governatore (Governor's Palace, 1502). It is home to the Galleria d'arte moderna Aroldo Bonzagni.
  • Porta Pieve (14th century), the sole surviving gate of the four once existing.

Culture

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

People

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 known as "CR group" (where the "R" comes from the name Renazzo).[3]

International relations

Cento is twinned with:

References

  1. ↑ Statute of Partecipanza Agraria (Italian)
  2. ↑ Wikisource Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cento (town)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  3. ↑ Meteoritical Bulletin Database
  4. ↑ Bozsoki, Agnes. "Partnervárosok Névsora Partner és Testvérvárosok Névsora" [Partner and Twin Cities List]. City of Székesfehérvár (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
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