Lugo () is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the northern

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

region of

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, in the

province of Ravenna The province of Ravenna (; ) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Ravenna. As of 2015, it has a population of 391,997 inhabitants over an area of , giving it a population density of 210.81 inhabitants pe ...

History

A settlement in where the city is now is mentioned for the first time in 782 AD, but the names Lucus appears only in 1071. In 1161 it was a fief of the Counts of Cunio, but in 1202 it returned to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. It was later a possession of the

da Polenta The da Polenta family () or Polentani () was an old Italian noble family whose name derives from the Castle of Polenta near Bertinoro in Romagna. History The founder of the house is said to have been Guido, surnamed "l'Antico" (the Elder), wh ...

Pepoli The Pepoli family was an Italian aristocratic banking family of Bologna, in northern Italy. They were lords of the city for thirteen years in the fourteenth century. A branch of the family moved to Trapani in Sicily and were granted several feu ...

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

and Este; the latter maintained it until 1597, when the city was again annexed to the Papal States. In 1424 the Castle of Zagonara (now destroyed) was the seat of the homonymous

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

, in which a Milanese army defeated the Florentines. When in 1797 the French revolutionary forces invaded northern Italy, Barnaba Chiaramonti (later

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

as Pius VII), then still

Bishop of Imola The Diocese of Imola () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Romagna, northern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bologna.General Augereau. In 1859, through

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

, Lugo joined the newly born

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Senio river formed the frontline between the German and Allied occupation areas from December 1944 until 10 April 1945. The city was liberated by the 1st Jaipur Infantry. A memorial to the Jaipur Infantry was built in the city. The city suffered heavy destruction but recovered quickly after the end of the conflict. On 19 January 1993 the area near Lugo experienced a meteorite airburst with a yield estimated at Lugo6

Main sights

*Rocca Estense (Este Castle), the Town Hall from 1797. The current appearance dates from 1500, when the old fortress was rebuilt; the eastern side was erected during the Napoleonic occupation. The interior houses portraits of famous lughesi, a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

attributed to

Mino da Fiesole Mino da Fiesole (c. 1429 – July 11, 1484), also known as Mino di Giovanni, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Poppi, Tuscany. He is noted for his portrait busts. Career Mino's work was influenced by his master Desiderio da Settignano and ...

and a noteworthy 19th-century garden. *The Pavaglione, former 19th century covered market (mainly known for silkworm trade). *The Oratorio of Croce Coperta, with 15th-century frescoes. *The 'Collegiata' church, rebuilt in the 18th century over a 13th-century Franciscan edifice, has a suggestive 15th-century cloister. *San Francesco di Paola (1890), houses a precious polychrome terracotta sculpture of ''Dead Christ'' (15th century). * Teatro Rossini, now a 445-seat opera house, completely restored between 1984 and 1986 based on its original conception from 1759 and restoration and expansion in 1821.

People

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...

(1792–1868) – composer * Giuseppe de Begnis (1793–1849) – operatic bass *

Agostino Codazzi Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi (; 12 July 1793 – 7 February 1859), alternatively known in Latin America as Juan Bautista Agustín Codazzi (), was an Italo-Venezuelan soldier, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of ...

(1793–1859) – cartographer *

Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro (; 12January 1925) was an Italian mathematician. He is most famous as the discoverer of tensor calculus. With his former student Tullio Levi-Civita, he wrote his most famous single publication, a pioneering work on the ...

(1853–1925) – mathematician * Attilio Pratella (1856–1949) – painter *

Francesco Balilla Pratella Francesco Balilla Pratella (Lugo, Italy February 1, 1880 – Ravenna, Italy May 17, 1955) was an Italian composer, musicologist and essayist. Although he was one of the leading advocates of Futurism in Italian music, much of Pratella's own music ...

(1880–1955) – composer *

Charles Ponzi Charles Ponzi (; ; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949) was an Italians, Italian charlatan and Scam, con artist who operated in the United States and Canada. His Pseudonym, aliases included ''C ...

(1882–1949) – swindler, known for the

Ponzi scheme A Ponzi scheme (, ) is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays Profit (accounting), profits to earlier investors with Funding, funds from more recent investors. Named after Italians, Italian confidence artist Charles Ponzi, this type of s ...

Gustavo Del Vecchio Gustavo is the Latinate form of a Germanic male given name with respective prevalence in Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. It is derived from Gustav /ˈɡʊstɑːv/, also spelled Gustaf, a Swedish name, likely from Slavic Gostislav. People w ...

(1883-1972) – economist and politician *

Francesco Baracca Count Francesco Baracca (9 May 1888 – 19 June 1918) was Italy's top fighter ace of World War I. He was credited with 34 aerial victories. The emblem he wore side by side on his plane of a black horse prancing on its two rear hooves ins ...

(1888–1918) – World War I flying ace *

Fabio Taglioni Fabio Taglioni (10 September 1920 – 18 July 2001) was an Italian engineer. Born in Lugo di Romagna, he was chief designer and technical director of Ducati from 1954 until 1989. His desmodromic 90° V-twin engine design is still used in a ...

(1920–2001) – engineer * Mario Lega (born 1949) – professional motorcycle racer *

Pierluigi Martini Pierluigi Martini (; born 23 April 1961) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Martini won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in with BMW in motorsport ...

(born 1961) – Formula One racing driver * Lorenzo Baroni (born 1990) – motorcycle racer

Twin towns

Agustín Codazzi Giovanni Battista Agostino Codazzi (; 12 July 1793 – 7 February 1859), alternatively known in Latin America as Juan Bautista Agustín Codazzi (), was an Italo-Venezuelan soldier, scientist, geographer, cartographer, and governor of ...

, Colombia *

Choisy-le-Roi Choisy-le-Roi () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department, in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. History The current Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1988. Geography Choisy-le-Roi is located southeast from the center of ...

, France *

Kulmbach Kulmbach () is the capital of the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria in Germany. The town, once a stronghold of the Principality of Bayreuth, is renowned for its University of Life Sciences, a branch of the University of Bayreuth, the massive Plasse ...

, Germany *

Nervesa della Battaglia Nervesa della Battaglia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about north of Treviso. In February 1358 Nervesa was the scene of a battle in which the Republic of ...

, Italy *

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

, Ireland * Yoqneam, Israel

References

{{authority control Castles in Italy Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna