Monteveglio (''Muntvì'' or ''Måntvî'' in the western

Bolognese dialect Bolognese (native name ) is a dialect of Emilian spoken in the most part in the city of Bologna and its hinterland (except east of the Sillaro stream), but also in the district of Castelfranco Emilia in the Province of Modena, and in the ...

) 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 terri ...

'' (village) in the ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) of Valsamoggia. It is located about west of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

, near the Samoggia River, in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

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 was an independent ''comune'' until 2014, when it merged with the neighboring municipalities of

Bazzano, Valsamoggia Bazzano is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' (municipality) of Valsamoggia in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna. It was an independent commune until 2014. In this ''frazione'' ...

, Castello di Serravalle, Crespellano, and Savigno. Monteveglio's main attractions are its

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 t ...

of Santa Maria and Oratory of San Rocco.

Etymology

The name ''Monteveglio'' may have come from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''mons belli,'' "mountain of war". However, though phonetically feasible, this view lacks documentary evidence, and archaeologically there is no evidence of Roman fortification or a garrison in the area. More likely is that ''Monteveglio'' is a corruption of ''Montebello'', "beautiful mountain".

History

Ancient era

The lands surrounding the Samoggia River have been inhabited since the

Neolithic era The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, as evidenced by archaeological finds now visible in the Archaeological Museum of Bazzano. Settlement at Monteveglio, however, only certainly dates back to the 1st century AD. At this time, there were

Roman 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 lett ...

villas in the area of the modern abbey. Very little remains of them. Only one building in the village today bears the remains of Roman facades and

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, Monteveglio, along with other settlements, became part of a system of fortifications between the

Samoggia The Samoggia is a river in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The source of the river is in the province of Modena near Zocca. The river flows northeast into the Metropolitan City of Bologna and flows near Bazzano, Crespellano, Piumazzo, Anzo ...

and Panaro rivers, protecting inner Italy from 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 an ...

until the final conquest of Liutprand in 727. In 728, Monteveglio joined the

Duchy of Persiceta The Duchy of Persiceta (or Persiceto) in the Kingdom of the Lombards was created on territory taken from the Byzantine Empire by King Liutprand in 728. It comprised two '' pagi'' ("counties"): Monteveglio south of the Via Aemilia and Persiceto t ...

. In the 11th century, Monteveglio was fundamental in Countess Matilda of Tuscany's desperate resistance to Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV's invasion of Italy, after his humiliating defeat to

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...

Canossa Canossa ( Reggiano: ) is a '' comune'' and castle town in the Province of Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077 and stood three days bare-headed in the snow to reverse his ...

. Supposedly, it was the death of the Emperor's son in the battle at Monteveglio that proved the strength of the papal forces and prompted the invaders to retreat.

21st century

In 2008, Monteveglio was the first Italian municipality to be recognized as a

transition town The terms transition town, transition initiative and transition model refer to grassroot community projects that aim to increase self-sufficiency to reduce the potential effects of peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instabilitythrough r ...

. Since 2009, it has been part of the Union of Common Samoggia Valleys. On 25 November 2012, a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

was held, proposing merging Monteveglio with the neighbouring municipalities of Bazzano, Castello di Serravalle, Crespellano, and Savigno. The result was a "yes" vote of 51.5%. On 1 January 2014 the municipality of Valsamoggia was established.

Geography

Monteveglio is located in the Bolognese

Apennines 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 territory is hilly, characterized by extensive forest cover alternating with arable land. There are also

badland Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, m ...

areas characterized by intense erosion. Over the last century, Monteveglio expanded onto the foot of the 260-meter hill on which its abbey and medieval fortifications are located. "Abbey Hill" and the surrounding 900 hectares constitute the "Monteveglio Abbey Regional Park", which is rich in local wildlife, especially birds.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna