Taro () was a department of the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

in present-day

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. 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 fra ...

. It was formed in 1808, when the

Duchy of Parma and Piacenza The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza (, ) 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 family after Pope Paul III made it a hereditary duchy for his so ...

was annexed by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 do ...

. Its capital was

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. 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, Napol ...

, the Duchy was restored and given to

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine given name, compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms: * Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese) * Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish) * Maria Luise (German) * Mari ...

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

Italian provinces The provinces of Italy ( ; sing. ) 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 "institutional bo ...

and

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

. 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 List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

(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 ...

near

Busseto Busseto ( Bussetano: ; Parmigiano: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Parma, in Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy with about inhabitants. Its history is quite well documented back to the 10th century, and for almost five hundred years it was the ...

Subdivision

The department was subdivided into the following ''

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

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, th ...

'' (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, within the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It is located about northwest of Bologna and approximately north of Parma. Colorno borders the following municipalitie ...

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, Cornigl ...

San Pancrazio The basilica of San Pancrazio (; ) is a Catholic minor basilica and titular, conventual, and parish church founded by Pope Symmachus in the 6th century in Rome, Italy. It stands in via S. Pancrazio, westward beyond the Porta San Pancrazio tha ...

(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 Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usuall ...

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. *

(), cantons:

Agazzano Agazzano (Emilian language#Dialects, Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italy, Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. Among the main sites ...

Bettola Bettola ( 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 World War I veteran, Lazare Ponticel ...

, Borgonovo,

Castel San Giovanni Castel San Giovanni (Emilian language#Dialects, 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 fort ...

, Pianello,

(2 cantons),

Ponte dell'Olio Ponte dell'Olio ( ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Piacenza, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, located about south of Piacenza, about south of Milan and about northwest of Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the cap ...

Pontenure Pontenure ( ) 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 municipalities: Cadeo, Caorso, C ...

Rivergaro Rivergaro (Emilian language#Dialects, Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italy, Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza. As of 31 December 2011 ...

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 Borgo may refer to the following places: Finland * Borgå France * Borgo, Haute-Corse Italy * Borgo (rione of Rome), a ''rione'' in the City of Rome. * Borgo a Mozzano, in the province of Lucca * Borgo d'Ale, in the province of Vercelli * Bo ...

, cantons: Bardi,

, Carpaneto,

Cortemaggiore Cortemaggiore (Emilian language#Dialects, Piacentino: ) is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality) located in the Province of Piacenza. Cortemaggiore is located in northern Italy about from Milan and from Bologna, in the Po Valley. The municipality ...

Fiorenzuola Fiorenzuola d'Arda (; , 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 refers to the River Arda which flows ...

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

, Lugagnano,

Monticelli Monticelli may refer to: Places in Italy ;Municipalities (''comuni'') * Monticelli Brusati, in the Province of Brescia * Monticelli d'Ongina, in the Province of Piacenza * Monticelli Pavese, in the Province of Pavia * Monte San Biagio, in the ...

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 wit ...

. 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