Argenta ( Argentano: ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Ferrara The province of Ferrara ( it, provincia di Ferrara; egl, pruvîncia ad Fràra) is a province in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Its provincial capital is the city Ferrara. As of 2016, it has a population of 354,238 inhabitants over an area ...

Emilia-Romagna egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title ...

. It is located about southeast of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, and midway between Ferrara and

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

Geography

Argenta is situated in a flat agricultural region near the

Valli di Comacchio The Valli di Comacchio, meaning "fish basins of Comacchio", are a series of contiguous brackish lagoons situated to the south of Comacchio, close to the Adriatic coast of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. They lie within the comuni of ...

lagoon wetlands. Much of the latter is today a wildlife sanctuary and Argenta is home of the Marsh Museum which offers many facilities for ornithology.

History

The town was founded by the

Romans 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 ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. In 1295 it was the seat of a convention of the main

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

leaders of

Romagna Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...

to decide the course of the war against the Papal forces. In 1923 a Fascist squad murdered a Catholic priest, don

Giovanni Minzoni Giovanni Minzoni (born 1 July 1885 in Ravenna; died on 23 August 1923 in Argenta, province of Ferrara) was an Italian anti-fascist Catholic priest who was killed by a fascist squad in 1923. Minzoni was born to a middle-class family. He studied i ...

, an anti-fascist and the voice of the poor farmers in Romagna, as well as a friend of several socialist politicians like Natale Galba. During World War II the area was part of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

. In April 1945, in the Allied advance of

Operation Roast Operation Roast was a military operation undertaken by British Commandos, at Comacchio lagoon in north-east Italy, during the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, part of the Italian Campaign, during the final stages of Second World War. Background T ...

, it was the location of the

Battle of the Argenta Gap The Battle of the Argenta Gap was an engagement which formed part of the Allied spring 1945 offensive during the Italian campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. It took place in northern Italy from 12 to 19 April 1945 between tr ...

Twin towns

Argenta is twinned with: * Castelnau-le-Lez, France, since 2003

Main sights

* Pieve di San Giorgio, a Palaeo-Christian church on the Reno River. * Museum of the Valleys of Argenta * Museo della Bonifica ("Museum of Land Reclamation") * Duomo di San Nicolò * San Domenico

Transportation

Argenta is located on the SS16 Adriatica state highway, which connects it to Ferrara and Ravenna. It has a station on the Ferrara-Ravenna-

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

railroad.

References

External links

The Marsh Museum

Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub