Marzabotto Explained

Marzabotto
Official Name:Comune di Marzabotto
Coordinates:44.3389°N 11.2056°W
Region:Emilia-Romagna
Metropolitan City:Bologna (BO)
Frazioni:see list
Mayor:Valentina Cuppi
Area Total Km2:74
Population Total:6826
Population As Of:30 September 2017
Population Demonym:Marzabottesi
Elevation M:130
Saint:St. Joseph and St. Charles [1]
Day:March 19
Postal Code:52100
Area Code:051

Marzabotto (Medial Mountain Bolognese: Marzabòt) is a small town and comune in Italian region Emilia-Romagna, part of the Metropolitan City of Bologna. It is located 27km (17miles) south-southwest of Bologna by rail, and lies in the valley of the Reno. The area includes the site of an ancient Etruscan city and also the place of a modern massacre that took place there during World War II.

Etruscan city

In and below the grounds of the Villa Aria, close to the city, are the remains of an Etruscan town of the 5th century BC, Kainua, protected on the west by the mountains, on the south-east by the river, which by a change of course has destroyed about half of it.[2] [3] The acropolis was just below the villa: here remains of temples were found.

The town lay below the modern high-road and was laid out on a rectangular plan divided by main streets into eight quarters, and these in turn into blocks or insulae.[4] Necropoleis were found on the east and north of the site.[5] The place was partially inhabited later by the Gauls, but was not occupied by the Romans.[6]

World War II massacre

See main article: Marzabotto massacre. On September 29, 1944, during the World War II German occupation of Italy, the town was the site of the worst massacre of civilians committed by the Waffen SS in Italy.[7] In reprisal of the local support given to the partisans and the resistance movement, soldiers of the SS-Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung 16, killed systematically hundreds of civilians in Marzabotto, and in the adjacent Grizzana Morandi and Monzuno.[8] The town was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valour for this episode.Sculptor Nicola Zamboni created a large monument in the city in 1975 in front of the town hall.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. There are several saints called Charles (Italian: San Carlo). None of their feast days is on March 19, so this may be a local saint. Alternatively, the local church may contain relics of one of the known Saint Charles.
  2. Web site: Places: 393448 (Marzabotto) . Pearce, M., R. Peretto, P. Tozzi, DARMC, R. Talbert, S. Gillies, T. Elliott, J. Becker . March 12, 2016 . Pleiades.
  3. Book: Sybille Haynes. Sybille Haynes. Etruscan Civilization: A Cultural History. 1 September 2005. Getty Publications. 978-0-89236-600-2. 188–.
  4. Book: Luisa Banti. Etruscan Cities and Their Culture. 1973. University of California Press. 978-0-520-01910-2. 9–.
  5. Book: Paolo Bernardini. Giovannangelo Camporeale. The Etruscans Outside Etruria. 2004. Getty Publications. 978-0-89236-767-2. 182–.
  6. The Etruscan town of Marzabotto Archaeological site and National Etruscan Museum "Pompeo Aria" http://www.archeobologna.beniculturali.it/marzabotto/note_en.htm
  7. Book: Alexander Mikaberidze. Atrocities, Massacres, and War Crimes: An Encyclopedia [2 Volumes]: An Encyclopedia. 25 June 2013. ABC-CLIO. 978-1-59884-926-4. 441–.
  8. Book: Nigel Cawthorne. The Story of the SS. 24 July 2012. Arcturus Publishing. 978-1-84858-947-6. 142–.
  9. Book: Monumenti alla libertà: antifascismo, resistenza e pace nei monumenti italiani dal 1945 al 1985. Luciano Galmozzi. La Pietra. 152. 1986.