Taro was a

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

in present-day

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 was named after the

Taro river The Taro (Latin ''Tarus'') is a river in Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. It is a tributary of the Po and is long. It flows almost entirely in the province of Parma, west of the city Parma. The Taro flows into the Po near Gramignazzo, a fraz ...

. It was formed in 1808, when the

Duchy of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza ( it, Ducato di Parma e Piacenza, la, Ducatus Parmae et Placentiae), was an Italian state created in 1545 and located in northern Italy, in the current region of Emilia-Romagna. Originally a realm of the Farnese ...

was annexed by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

under the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

. Its capital was

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

. The department was disbanded after the defeat of Napoleon in 1814. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, the Duchy was restored and given to

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

, Napoleon's wife. Its territory is now divided between the

Italian provinces The provinces of Italy ( it, province d'Italia) are the second-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, on an intermediate level between a municipality () and a region (). Since 2015, provinces have been classified as "institutio ...

and

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

. The most notable person born in the then-Département of Taro was the composer

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

(born 9 or 10 October 1813 in the village of

Le Roncole Le Roncole (today known as Roncole Verdi) is a village in the province of Parma (Emilia-Romagna region) of Italy, a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Busseto. It is located 140 km southeast of Milan. It is best known as the birthplace on 9 ...

near

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with a population of about 7,100. Its history has very ancient roots which date back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred ...

Subdivision

The department was subdivided into the following ''

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s'' and ''

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

'' (situation in 1812):Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII
p. 474-475, accessed in Gallica 18 August 2013 *

, cantons:

Colorno Colorno (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about north of Parma. Colorno borders the following municipalities: Casalmaggiore, Gus ...

Corniglio Corniglio (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Parma. Corniglio borders the following municipalities: Bagnone, Berceto, ...

, San Donato, Fornovo,

Langhirano Langhirano (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Parma. Langhirano borders the following municipalities: Calestano, Cornigli ...

San Pancrazio The basilica of San Pancrazio ( en, St Pancras; la, S. Pancratii) is a Roman Catholic ancient basilica and titular church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta S ...

(2 cantons),

Poviglio Poviglio (Mantovano: ; Reggiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Reggio Emilia. Poviglio borders the following mun ...

Sissa The International School for Advanced Studies (Italian: ''Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati''; SISSA) is an international, state-supported, post-graduate-education and research institute in Trieste, Italy. SISSA is active in th ...

Traversetolo Traversetolo (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Parma. Traversetolo borders the following municipalities: Canossa, Lesig ...

and Vairo. *

(french: Plaisance), cantons:

Agazzano Agazzano ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. Agazzano borders the following municipalities: Borgon ...

Bettola Bettola ( egl, label= Piacentino, La Bëtla or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about south of Piacenza. People France's last recognised Wor ...

, Borgonovo,

Castel San Giovanni Castel San Giovanni ( Piacentino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. History The origins of the town are probably related to an ancient ''pieve'' called ''Olubra'' and a fortress called ''Castellus Mi ...

Pianello Pianello (; co, U Pianellu, pronounced byɑ̃.ˈneː.lːu is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica. The village is in the la Serra area, south east of Castagniccia. Population See also *Communes of ...

(2 cantons),

Ponte dell'Olio Ponte dell'Olio ( egl, label= Piacentino, Al Pont da l'Oli ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about south of Piacenza, about south of Milan and about northwest of Bologna. A ...

Pontenure Pontenure ( egl, label= Piacentino, Pontnür ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southeast of Piacenza. Pontenure borders the following ...

Rivergaro Rivergaro ( Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. As of 31 December 2011, it had a population of 6,843 an ...

and

Rottofreno Rottofreno ( Piacentino: , , or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about west of Piacenza. Rottofreno borders the following municipalities: ...

. *

Borgo San Donnino Fidenza (Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its Roman name of ''Fidentia''; before, it was cal ...

, cantons: Bardi,

, Carpaneto,

Cortemaggiore Cortemaggiore ( Piacentino: ) is an Italian ''comune'' located in the Province of Piacenza. Cortemaggiore is located in the northern Italy about from Milan and from Bologna, in the Pianura Padana. The municipality borders with Fiorenzuola d'Arda, ...

Fiorenzuola Fiorenzuola d'Arda (; egl, label= Piacentino, Fiurinsöla, or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy in the province of Piacenza, part of the Emilia-Romagna region. Its name derives from ''Florentia'' ("prosperous" in Latin). The "d'Arda" portion r ...

Fontanellato Fontanellato (Parmigiano: ) is a small town in the province of Parma, in northern Italy. It lies on the plains of the River Po near the A1 autostrada, about west of Parma towards Piacenza. The town was built up in the 15th century around the ...

, Lugagnano, Monticelli,

Noceto Noceto (Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about west of Parma. The municipality of Noceto contains the ''frazioni'' (subdivisions, ...

, Pellegrino, San Secondo and

Zibello Santi Gervasio e Protasio. Zibello is a town in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Parma. It was an independent ''comune'' until 1 January 2016, when it merged wi ...

. Its population in 1812 was 376,558, and its area was approximately 502,236 hectares.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taro (Department) Former departments of France in Italy 1808 establishments in the First French Empire Duchy of Parma