Magenta (, ) 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

Metropolitan City of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan (; , ) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city (not to be confused with the Milan metropolitan area, metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is the second most populous metropolitan ci ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, northern Italy. It became notable as the site of the

Battle of Magenta The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 near the town of Magenta in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, during the Second Italian War of Independence. It resulted in a French-Sardinian victory under ...

in 1859. The color

magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

takes its name from the battle. Magenta is the birthplace of Saint

Gianna Beretta Molla Gianna Beretta Molla (4 October 1922 – 28 April 1962) was an Italian Catholic pediatrician. Although aware of possible fatal consequences, Molla refused both an abortion and a hysterectomy during her pregnancy with her fourth child in order ...

(1922–1962) and film producer

Carlo Ponti Carlo Fortunato Pietro Ponti Sr. (11 December 1912 – 10 January 2007) was an Italian film producer with more than 140 productions to his credit. Along with Dino De Laurentiis, he is credited with reinvigorating and popularizing Italian cin ...

(1912–2007). The municipality of Magenta is part of the

Parco naturale lombardo della Valle del Ticino The Parco Naturale Lombardo Della Valle Del Ticino is a Nature reserve established on 9 January 1974. It was the first Italian regional park to be established and the first European river park. The park is located along the banks of the river Ti ...

, a

Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

included by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere or nature reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage susta ...

History

Magenta was probably a settlement of the

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman conquest, they were the re ...

, a Celtic tribe, who founded it around the 5th century BC. The area was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC. The name is traditionally connected to ''castrum Maxentiae'', meaning "castle of

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius ( 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized as a legitimate ...

". After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, it was ruled by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

. The Celtic origins of Magenta are proved by some important archeological finds, especially in the area where now the Institute of Canossian Mothers stands; there was a Celtic necropolis in ancient times. Objects, jewelry and weapons were found here. In the Middle Ages, it was destroyed twice, in 1162 by

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

and in 1356 by the troops opposing the Visconti rule of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. In 1310, according to a legend, the emperor Henry VII was stopped here by a snowstorm during his march to Milan. In 1398

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Duchy of Milan, Milan (1395) and ruled that late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò V ...

donated the town territories to the monks of the

Certosa di Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small village of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built from 1396 to 1495, it was once located at the end of the Visconti Park a l ...

. On June 4, 1859, it was the site of an important battle of the

Second War of Italian Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

. The Franco-Piedmontese victory in the fight gave them the chance to conquer Austrian Lombardy. Magenta received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on May 25, 1947.

Main sights

* Church of San Martino, built to commemorate the dead of the 1859 battle * Monastery of Santa Maria Assunta, probably dating from the 14th century. The church, of Romanesque origin but with Baroque interiors, houses two works by il Bergognone (1501, once attributed to

Bernardino Luini Bernardino Luini (/82 – June 1532) was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having taken ...

's workshop). * Church of San Rocco (early 16th century) * Casa Crivelli Boisio Beretta, an example of 15th-century noble house * Casa Giacobbe * Monument to general

Patrice de MacMahon Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de MacMahon, marquis de MacMahon, duc de Magenta (; 13 June 1808 – 17 October 1893), was a French general and politician who served as President of France from 1873 to 1879. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal ...

* La Fagiana natural park, a former hunting resort of King

Victor Emmanuel II Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 until 17 March ...

Transport

Twin towns

Magenta is twinned with: *

Magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

, (Marne), France * Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Italy

Gallery

Image:MagentaItaly1.jpeg, Main square Image:MagentaItaly2.jpeg, Off of main square Image:MagentaItaly Biblioteca.jpeg, Magenta former library Image:MagentaItaly Duke.jpeg, Monument to Patrice de MacMahon

Notes

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