The Metropolitan City of Bologna ( it, Città Metropolitana di Bologna) is a
metropolitan city in the
Emilia-Romagna region,
Italy. Its capital is ''de facto'' the city of
Bologna, though the body does not explicitly outline it. It was created by the
reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990) and established by the Law 56/2014, replacing the
Province of Bologna. It has been operative since 1 January 2015.
The Metropolitan City is headed by the Metropolitan Mayor (''Sindaco metropolitano'') and by the Metropolitan Council (''Consiglio metropolitano'').
History
Remains of the Iron Age
Villanovan culture were discovered near Bologna by archaeologists in 1853.
The city was settled by the Etruscans and named Velzna, later Felsina. In the 6th century BCE, Felsina was known for its markets and trade. It was invaded by the Gallic
Boii tribe in this period, who developed the agricultural output of the region. The Romans began their conquest of the region around 220 BCE and were successful by the 180s BCE; upon their capture of Felsina, it was renamed Bononia. After Rome fell in 476 CE and the region suffered barbarian invasions, Bononia was made a fortress.
The city was owned by Charlemagne but was given to the Holy See in 774. Later, the Holy Roman Empire controlled the city and it became known as Bologna. Bologna became a commune by 1114, but it desired independence and in 1176 it joined the
Lombard League, an alliance opposed to the Holy Roman Empire's influence.
Emperor Frederick I
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...
recognised its desire for independence and granted it some autonomy.
It joined the Second Lombard League to defeat
Frederick II in 1249. Bologna became part of the Papal States in 1506 and joined the
Kingdom of Italy upon
Italian unification
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
in the 19th century.
The
University of Bologna was founded in 1088; its speciality was
Roman and
canon law, and it set standards in the way it was organised and the curriculum that was followed by universities in Italy.
Geography
The Metropolitan City of Bologna is part of the region of
Emilia-Romagna in northwestern Italy. It is in the centre of the region and is bounded on the east by the
Province of Ravenna, while the
Province of Ferrara lies to the north and the
Province of Modena lies to the west. To the south are the
Metropolitan City of Florence, the
Province of Prato and the
Province of Pistoia, all in the region of
Tuscany.
The metropolitan territory is largely flat, and stretches from the alluvial
Po Plain into the
Apennine Mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
; the highest point in the metropolitan city is the peak of
Corno alle Scale {{disambiguation
* Corno, italian for Natural horn
* Irene Camber-Corno, Italian fencer
* Corno (artist), Canadian artist
* Cornicello, Italian amulet
* Corno, small river of the northern Lazio and eastern Umbria in Italy
* Corno di Rosazzo, mun ...
in the commune of
Lizzano in Belvedere, at above sea level.
Government
List of Metropolitan Mayors of Bologna
References
External links
Official website
{{coord, 44.4939, N, 11.3428, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Bologna
Villanovan culture