Cavezzo (
Mirandolese: ) is a ''
comune'' (municipality) in the
Province of Modena in the
Italian region
Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of
Bologna and about northeast of
Modena
Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
.
Cavezzo borders the following municipalities:
Carpi
Carpi may refer to:
Places
* Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy
* Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric
People
* Carpi (people), an ancie ...
,
Medolla
Medolla ( Mirandolese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Modena.
Medolla borders the following municipalities: Bomporto, Cam ...
,
Mirandola,
Novi di Modena,
San Possidonio,
San Prospero
San Prospero ( Carpigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) ...
.
Physical geography
The area of Cavezzo is located in the Modenese lowlands. It confines with
Mirandola e
San Possidonio in the north,
Medolla
Medolla ( Mirandolese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Modena.
Medolla borders the following municipalities: Bomporto, Cam ...
in the east,
San Prospero
San Prospero ( Carpigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) ...
in the south and
Carpi
Carpi may refer to:
Places
* Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, a large town in the province of Modena, central Italy
* Carpi (Africa), a city and former diocese of Roman Africa, now a Latin Catholic titular bishopric
People
* Carpi (people), an ancie ...
and
Novi di Modena in the west.
Cavezzo has a typically temperate continental climate of the
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
and of mid-latitudes. Like in the rest of the surrounding valley, winters are moderately harsh, with little rain and frequent fog. Summers are hot and humid in July and August, with temperatures that can increase above 35 degrees and with stormy precipitations. Springs and autumns are generally rainy. In spring and autumn, the climate is milder and more humid.
Origins of the name
The name could come from the Latin word ''cavaedium'' that means “space closed by walls” in the form ''cavaedicium''.
History
In ancient times, Cavezzo was a part of Caesar's ancient community dependent on the
Abbey of Nonantola Nonantola Abbey, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, is a former a Benedictine monastery and ''prelature nullius'' in the commune of Nonantola, c. 10 km north-east of Modena, in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The abbey church remains as a basi ...
.
The village is cited in an 1140s document and later in 1203 it is mentioned as the “Island of St Giles” because in the same year an oratory was built in honour of the Saint. It is mentioned as ''cavaedicium'' only in 1322, and it was part of the Court of Roncaglia. The
River Secchia
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
, at the time, flowed through the middle of the village, later through several canals were made that to this day pass under the village and thus liken Cavezzo to Venice and Ravenna. The church of St Giles, founded as an oratory in 1203, became a church in 1352 and a parish church in 1641. Another important sacred building is the church in the hamlet of Motta of the 16th century, even though the church existed already in 1492 and the bell tower probably dates to the 14th century.
During the period of the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, because of the many deaths, a lot of catacombs were built in the rural areas close to the village. They are mentioned in documents dated 1349.
Until 1796, the settlement was classified simply as “villa” of the inferior district of the municipality of Modena. During the Napoleonic era it became a municipality including Motta, Disvetro and
Medolla
Medolla ( Mirandolese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Modena.
Medolla borders the following municipalities: Bomporto, Cam ...
. In 1815, Cavezzo was added as a “section” to the municipality of Mirandola. Following the
Unification of Italy, in 1860 it became an independent municipality.
Cavezzo suffered a lot of damage due to the earthquake of Emilia in 2012; in particular because of the 29 May quakes that caused two deaths and destroyed many areas in the village.
Sport
Football
The main football team of the city is ''Polisportiva Dilettantistica Cavezzo''.
Cycling
In 1932 the cyclist
Nino Borsari
Nino Borsari (14 December 1911 – 31 March 1996) was an Italian cyclist who won a gold medal in the 4000 metres team pursuit event at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
In 1934, Borsari traveled to Australia to compete in the Centenary 1000, one-w ...
(1911-1996), born in Villa Motta, managed to win the gold medal in the team pursuit at the Olympics in Los Angeles. In the following years, a
velodrome was built in order to allow Borsari to train, but because of the war, he was stuck in Australia where he remained permanently and became an important point of reference for Italian emigrants. Until the ‘50s, the velodrome of Cavezzo hosted numerous cycling reunions, with the participation of great cycling champions including
Fausto Coppi and
Gino Bartali. In 1973 the world record was established for 24 hours on tandem, covering 1,787 laps of the track for a total of 682 km. In September 1975, the velodrome and the stadium were named after Nino Borsari who, for the occasion, came back from Australia to attend the ceremony.
Basketball
The female team ''Basket Cavezzo'', sponsored for years by the local company “Acetum”, played for several seasons in the A1 and A2 leagues. Now it takes part in the regional championship in serie B.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna