Barbiano di Cotignola is a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) 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 consolidate territ ...

'' (parish) of

Cotignola Cotignola ( rgn, Cudgnôla) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about west of Ravenna. Cotignola was the birthplace of the 15th century condottier ...

, in the

province of Ravenna The province of Ravenna ( it, provincia di Ravenna; ) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna. As of 2015, it has a population of 391,997 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is a small village, known as the birthplace of the medieval

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

Alberico da Barbiano Alberico da Barbiano (c. 1344–1409) was the first of the Italian condottieri. His master in military matters was the English mercenary John Hawkwood, known in Italy as Giovanni Acuto. Alberico's ''compagnia'' fought under the banner of Saint ...

. It is home to a Romanesque ''

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after th ...

''.

History

The ''

'' (rural church) around which Barbiano formed is known from 826, when

Pope Eugene II Pope Eugene II ( la, Eugenius II; died 27 August 827) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 6 June 824 to his death. A native of Rome, he was chosen by nobles to succeed Paschal I as pope despite the clergy and the people fav ...

gave it to Everard, a son of the last king of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. Des ...

. The pieve at the time also controlled that of Lugo di Romagna. A castle was built in Barbiano by Rainero I, Everardo's grandson, in 860. This fortress was destroyed on 16 May 1409, a month after the death of the condottiero Alberico da Barbiano, lord of the village's fief. In the 15th century the area was ruled by the

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last mem ...

family, and in the following century it passed under the Este. In 1598 it became part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

, under which it remained until the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

in 1861. In 1796 it was the seat of an ambush against French occupation troops, a feat which led, in retaliation, to the ravage of Barbiano and Lugo on 30 June/8 July. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Barbiano was captured by the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division on 9/10 April 1945, after six months of bombardments.

External links

Page at Cotignola's official website
{{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Ravenna