Carpi (; ) is an Italian 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 ...

'' of about 71,000 inhabitants in the

province of Modena The Province of Modena ( it, Provincia di Modena) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Modena. It has an area of and a total population of about 701,000 (2015). There are 48 ''comuni'' (singular: ''co ...

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 a busy centre for industrial and craft activities and for cultural and commercial exchanges.

History

The name "Carpi" is derived from ''carpinus betulus'', a

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hornbeam ...

tree particularly widespread in medieval times in the Po valley region. In Prehistoric times it was a settlement of the

Villanovan Culture The Villanovan culture (c. 900–700 BC), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfiel ...

. The foundation by the Lombard king

Aistulf Aistulf (also Ahistulf, Aistulfus, Haistulfus, Astolf etc.; it, Astolfo; died December 756) was the Duke of Friuli from 744, King of the Lombards from 749, and Duke of Spoleto from 751. His reign was characterized by ruthless and ambitious ef ...

of St. Mary's church in the castle (''Castrum Carpi'') in 752 was the first step in the current settlement of the city. From 1319 to 1525 it was ruled by the Pio family, after whom it was acquired by the Este, as part of the

Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

. The city received a Silver Medal for Military Valour in recognition of its participation in the resistance against the German occupation 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 opposing ...

. The town has one of the largest squares in all Italy (3rd place), the heart of the city, Piazza dei Martiri. It is surrounded by the castle, the cathedral, the town hall and a 52 arches long portico. Usually every Thursday and Saturday the square hosts the local market. Carpi used to be the finishing point of the annual Italian Marathon, which begins in nearby Maranello. Almost 1000 athletes enter the senior men's and women's race which has been held every year since 1988 in honor of Dorando Pietri, a long distance runner born in Carpi that lost his Olympic Gold Medal for being helped to stand up after a fall near the finish line.

The area was crippled in the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes, earthquakes of May 2012.

Title

As a titular

Duke of Modena Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...

, the current holder of the title of "Prince of Carpi" would be

Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (born 16 December 1955) is a member of the Belgian royal family as the husband of Princess Astrid of Belgium. He is the head of the House of Austria-Este, a cadet branch of the House of Habsbur ...

Geography

Located in the northern area of its province, at the borders with the one Reggio Emilia, Carpi borders with the municipalities of Campogalliano,

Cavezzo 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. Cavezzo borders the following municipalities: Carpi, Medo ...

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...

( RE),

Fabbrico Fabbrico ( Reggiano: or ; locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northeast of Reggio Emilia. Fabbrico borders the following mu ...

(RE), Modena,

Novi di Modena Novi di Modena ( Novese: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about north of Modena in the Pianura Padana The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of th ...

, Rio Saliceto (RE), Rolo (RE), San Prospero and Soliera. It counts the hamlets (''

frazioni 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 ...

'') of Budrione, Cantone di Gargallo, Cibeno Pile, Cortile, Fossoli, Gargallo, Lama di Quartirolo, Migliarina, Osteriola, San Marino, San Martino Secchia and Santa Croce.Municipal statute of Carpi
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Demographics

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:530 height:400 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:75000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:1000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2011 text:2011 bar:2015 text:2015 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from:0 till:16698 bar:1871 from:0 till:17913 bar:1881 from:0 till:18856 bar:1901 from:0 till:22876 bar:1911 from:0 till:27465 bar:1921 from:0 till:30880 bar:1931 from:0 till:33823 bar:1936 from:0 till:34189 bar:1951 from:0 till:37643 bar:1961 from:0 till:45208 bar:1971 from:0 till:55099 bar:1981 from:0 till:60614 bar:1991 from:0 till:60715 bar:2001 from:0 till:61476 bar:2011 from:0 till:67268 bar:2015 from:0 till:70644 PlotData= bar:1861 at: 16698 fontsize:S text:16,698 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at: 17913 fontsize:S text:17,913 shift:(-10,5) bar:1881 at: 18856 fontsize:S text:18,856 shift:(-10,5) bar:1901 at: 22876 fontsize:S text:22,876 shift:(-10,5) bar:1911 at: 27465 fontsize:S text:27,465 shift:(-10,5) bar:1921 at: 30880 fontsize:S text:30,880 shift:(-10,5) bar:1931 at: 33823 fontsize:S text:33,823 shift:(-10,5) bar:1936 at: 34189 fontsize:S text:34,189 shift:(-10,5) bar:1951 at: 37643 fontsize:S text:37,643 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 45208 fontsize:S text:45,208 shift:(-10,5) bar:1971 at: 55099 fontsize:S text:55,099 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 60614 fontsize:S text:60,614 shift:(-10,5) bar:1991 at: 60715 fontsize:S text:60,715 shift:(-10,5) bar:2001 at: 61476 fontsize:S text:61,476 shift:(-10,5) bar:2011 at: 67268 fontsize:S text:67,268 shift:(-10,5) bar:2015 at: 70644 fontsize:S text:70,644 shift:(-10,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Source ISTAT

Main sights

Carpi is distinguished by its great Renaissance square (

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

), called Piazza Martiri https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g670816-d4380076-Reviews-Piazza_dei_Martiri-Carpi_Province_of_Modena_Emilia_Romagna.html the

largest Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...

in the region. It is flanked by a portico with 52 columns. Other notable landmarks include: *Town hall (''Palazzo dei Pio'') - formerly the castle of the Pio family. It includes parts from different ages, such as the merloned-tower of Passerino Bonaccolsi, the Renaissance façade and the tower of Galasso Pio, and the 17th century watch tower. It includes a chapel frescoed by Bernardino Loschi and

Vincenzo Catena Vincenzo Catena (c. 1480–1531) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance Venetian school. He is also known as Vincenzo de Biagio. Life Nothing is known of the date and place of Catena's birth. The earliest known record of him is in an inscr ...

. *

Carpi Cathedral Carpi Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Carpi; Basilica cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Carpi, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Carpi. It ...

- Originally designed by

Baldassarre Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and lat ...

, drawings for it are located in the Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe in the Uffizi, Florence, and document Peruzzi's contact with

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

.Parsons, "Between Typology and Geometry, Designs by Baldassarre Peruzzi for Carpi Cathedral," ''Romisches Jahrbuch der Biblioteca Hertziana'' (Hirmer Verlag, Munich, 2005), band 35, pp. 287-326. Construction begun 1514, Baroque façade added in 1701 and cupola completed 1774). *Church of Santa Maria in Castello or ''La Sagra'' - façade (1514) designed by Peruzzi . *Church of Santa Chiara *Church of Santissimo Crocifisso *Church of San Bernardino Realino *Church of San Bernardino da Siena *Church of San Nicolò, Carpi *Church of

Sant'Ignazio la, Ecclesia Sancti Ignatii a Loyola in Campo Martio , image = Sant'Ignazio Church, Rome.jpg , imagesize = 300px , caption = Façade of Sant'Ignazio , mapframe =yes , mapframe-caption ...

- home of the Museum of the Diocese of Carpi *Church of San Francesco d'Assisi

Sports

The biggest football team in Carpi is

Carpi FC 1909 A.C. Carpi is an Italian professional football club based in Carpi, a city in the province of Modena. The club was founded in 1909, re-founded in 2000 and 2022. Carpi's colours are white and red, hence the nickname "Biancorossi". At the end of ...

who play in the 5510 capacity Stadio Sandro Cabassi. Carpi FC 1909 played in

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

during the 2013–14 season, achieving a 12th-place finish ensuring second tier football remained in the town for another season. On April 28, 2015, the club clinched promotion to

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

for the first time in its history. On 2016 the born in Carpi world champion swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri won Gold Medal on 1 500 free style at Brazil Olympics.

Notable people

Jacopo Berengario da Carpi Jacopo Berengario da Carpi (also known as Jacobus Berengarius Carpensis, Jacopo Barigazzi, Giacomo Berengario da Carpi or simply Carpus; c. 1460 – c. 1530) was an Italian physician. His book "''Isagoge breves''" published in 1522 made him the mo ...

(1460-1530), physician * Ermes Effron Borgnino, known as Ernest Borgnine (1917 - 2012), U.S. actor, was the son of Anna Boselli (1894–1949) who was born in Carpi * Camilla Pio di Savoia, (1440-1504) founder of Santa Chiara at Carpi *

Liliana Cavani Liliana Cavani (born 12 January 1933, Carpi, Italy) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She belongs to a generation of Italian filmmakers from Emilia-Romagna that came into prominence in the 1970s, including Bernardo Bertolucci, Pier P ...

(born 1933), film director and screenwriter * Alida Chelli (1943-2012), actress *

Roberto Corradi Roberto Corradi (born 29 January 1975) is an Italian former footballer who played as a midfielder. See also *Football in Italy *List of football clubs in Italy This is a list of football clubs located in Italy, sorted by division, then alph ...

(born 1975), former footballer * Ciro Menotti (1798-1831), patriot * Gregorio Paltrinieri (born 1994), swimmer * Galasso I Pio (d.1367), Prince of Carpi * Alberto III Pio (1475-1531), prince and humanist * Rodolfo Pio da Carpi (1500-1564), cardinal and humanist *

Bernardino Ramazzini Bernardino Ramazzini (; 4 October 1633 – 5 November 1714) was an Italian physician. Ramazzini, along with Francesco Torti, was an early proponent of the use of cinchona bark (from which quinine is derived) in the treatment of malaria. His m ...

(1633-1714), physician *

Carlo Rustichelli Carlo Rustichelli (24 December 1916 – 13 November 2004) was an Italian film composer whose career spanned the 1940s to about 1990. His prolific output included about 250 film compositions, as well as arrangements for other films, and music f ...

(1916-2004), composer * (1950-2007), fashion photographer

References

External links

Carpi official websiteCarpi
at Emilia Romagna Turismo (in English) {{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna Castles in Italy Villanovan culture