| Portomaggiore | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Emilia Romagna | |
| Territory | Ferrara | |
| Altitude | 2 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 126.64 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 11 514 (2020) | |
| Name inhabitants | Portuensi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0532 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 44015 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | San Carlo Borromeo (4 November) | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Portomaggiore is a city ofEmilia Romagna.
To know
The toponym derives from the important river port that existed on the Sandalo and which allowed trade with the next waterways (Fossa di Porto, Po di Primaro and Persico) and with the sea through the marshes of Comacchio.
Background
Portomaggiore, albeit without the attribute of greater, already appears in a document of 995 which lists the lands included in the parish church of Santa Maria in Porto. The modern toponym came only in 1249.
The land of Portomaggiore was long disputed between the archbishopric powers of Ravenna and those of Ferrara. In 1119 the emperor Arrigo VI promulgated a diploma with which the Ferrara border was moved up to the Fossa di Bosio, also including Portomaggiore. Another imperial diploma, seventy-six years later, returned the "Terre di Porto" to the people of Ravenna. The people of Ferrara, however, continued to consider the Fossa di Bosio as a natural border and to demand control over the centers of Portomaggiore, Sandolo, Maiero, Ripapersico, Consandolo and Portoverrara which only in 1277 could be said to be definitively Ferrara because they were delimited by a pit built by Azzo Novello. for the purpose of delimiting its borders.
The Este family ruled Portomaggiore for the entire duration of the Duchy of Ferrara and until its devolution to the Papal State. They brought considerable improvements in these lands, especially in terms of reclamation.
With the devolution of the Ferrara fiefdom in 1598, Pope Clement VIII personally went to take possession of the ducal territories; on 2 October he was in Portomaggiore where he celebrated a mass at the altar of the Madonna of the Church of San Francesco and left "abundant alms to the Convent of the Friars".
In the wars of independence the citizens of Portomaggiore were directly involved in the struggles for national unification. Among the most well-known episodes, the intervention of Count Colonel Ignazio Aventi in favor of the population of Comacchio rebelled against the Austrians; and again we must mention the figure of Ignazio's brother, Count Carlo Aventi, who, enlisted among the Bersaglieri del Po, fell in the battle of Cornuda on 9 May 1848. It was always an Aventi, Count Antonio son of Ignazio, who in 1859 organized and directed the city revolt of June 20, while Ferrara it was still controlled by the papal power and the Austrian garrison.
The nineteenth century was also the century of great reclamation; with them social struggles flared up which earned Portomaggiore the nickname of "strike capital". Already in 1901 numerous political-trade union organizations could be counted in the Portuense area, such as the Leagues of Resistance and Improvement which brought together forced and disobliged, bricklayers and workers. Although railways connecting with Ferrara and Bologna had been in operation for more than a decade, in 1903 the unemployed were still over 2500 and the economy was still based on the exploitation of workers. Thus it was that in 1903 the great strike of 4500 came, with violent clashes between police and scabs on one side and demonstrators on the other. Another important strike took place in 1907, during which the police on horseback intervened to tear down the barricades raised along the avenue of the station with the aim of preventing access to the scabs.
The two wars and the postwar period Fascism and the two wars left mourning and deep lacerations in the urban-architectural fabric of Portomaggiore: the terrorist actions of the black shirts were personally directed by Italo Balbo and Olao Gaggioli. Between 1944 and 1945 the air raids led to the destruction of the power plant, the railway station, the prisons, the Government Offices Building, the Eppi hospital, the Collegiate Church (the Duomo) and hundreds of houses. On April 19, when the eighth British army entered the city, Portomaggiore looked like a pile of rubble. In the 1950s, roads, houses, schools and the hospital were built; a master plan was implemented which led to one of the most modern urban structures of the time.
During the years of the economic boom, various artisanal and industrial activities flourished in Portomaggiore: among the most famous, Fabbri and Colombani. In 1986 Portomaggiore was considered the most suitable place to build an "American satellite mega-village"; 5000 square meters were then used for the construction of the "made in USA" dream. The OK Village, as this miniature New York was called, was in fact a small town where dancing was associated with the possibility of shopping on Fifth Avenue or lounging on the benches in Central Park. In the world, at the time of the construction of the complex, there were only two other similar clubs: the "Palladium" in New York and the "Ippodrome" in London.
How to orient yourself
Portomaggiore: full screen map.Its municipal territory also includes the hamlets of Gambulaga, Maiero, Portorotta, Portoverrara, Quartiere, Ripapersico, Runco and Sandolo.
How to get
By car
- A13 Bologna-Padova motorway, Ferrara Sud exit around 35km away.
- Ferrara-Porto Garibaldi freeway, Portomaggiore exit.
- State road 16 Adriatica.
On the train
- It has its own station on the Ferrara - Rimini line. It is the terminus of the Bologna – Portomaggiore and Portomaggiore-Dogato sections. In front of the Delizia del Verginese there is also a second railway station, located on the Portomaggiore-Dogato line, whose operation has been suspended since 2017.
How to get around
What see
- 1 Estense del Verginese delight (in the hamlet of Gambulaga about 6 kilometers from the capital.). Originally a country farmhouse, it was transformed into a ducal residence in the early sixteenth century by Alfonso I d'Este and donated to Laura Eustochia Dianti. On the death of the duke, the lady withdrew there, making it her small private court and ordered its renovation, mainly carried out by Cavaldi da Parma. He configured the castle as a building with a rectangular plan and two orders, delimited by four crenellated towers with a square plan. On the side there is a small eighteenth-century church, joined to the building by a portico, also from the same period. The interior was decorated starting from the eighteenth century with stuccoes, liberty-style flowers in tempera, shells, rosettes, scrolls and thick frames that outline the ceilings. Thanks to a recent restoration, the ancient Este delight has become a privileged place for temporary exhibitions, cultural meetings and concerts. Since 2006, La Delizia del Verginese houses the archaeological finds of the "Sepolcreto dei Fadieni" (1st and 2nd century AD).
- 2 Social Theater of Concordia, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 4. Designed by the architect Giovanni Tosi in the early 1800s on a mandate from the joint stock company of the "Teatro Sociale della Concordia", it was inaugurated on October 15, 1844. stalls, to accommodate about 450 spectators. After decades of neglect, in the 1980s the Ridotto of the theater was restored, a place for exhibitions and events, and in the rooms on the second floor there are now 10 portraits of the Portuense painter Federico Bernagozzi and 10 portraits of the Ferrara painter Remo Brindisi with illustrious Ferrara subjects '900.
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- 3 Church of San Giorgio Martire, via Verginese (in the hamlet of Gambulaga). It is the parish church of the hamlet of Gambulaga; the construction of the primitive temple dates back to the 14th century on the site where the castle of the Adelardi Marchesella stood. The building was then rebuilt in 1574, to give way to a new church in 1767. Large wooden columns joined to pillars were built which enclosed the side chapels. These parts were painted white and remained so until the restoration carried out in the mid-twentieth century, when they were repainted to look like marble, in order to aesthetically conform to the marble of the main altar.
- 4 Church of San Sisto II Papa, via Arginello (in the hamlet of Runco). Parish church of the hamlet of Runco, it is testified down from 1316.
- In 1650 the building underwent an important reconstruction which changed its original structure and a similar intervention was carried out a century later. After these changes it took on the baroque appearance that has come down to us.
- In the first decade of the 21st century a conservative restoration was carried out which paid attention to the wall structures and their painting.
- Among the artistic works preserved inside are important a painting portraying San Sisto Papa attributed to Ippolito Scarsella and the small paintings with the Via Crucis of the nineteenth century. For the devotion that surrounds it, the image of the Madonna della Trebbia, considered miraculous since the mid-twentieth century, should be remembered.
- 5 Church of San Clemente (in the hamlet of Portoverrara). The establishment of the parish of Portoverrara is prior to 1188, since on that date there was a church with a dedication to San Clemente, and therefore it appears to be one of the oldest in the Ferrara area.
- At the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the old building was replaced by a new church on the same site, retaining some original and recognizable parts in the external apsidal part, in Romanesque style. The original quadrangular bell tower, from the 11th century, also remained. Later a new rectory was also built and this led to changes in the roof covering.
- 6 Porto-Trava oasis. An ideal area for bird watching and sport fishing, this oasis extends over 11 hectares with a body of water of 7 hectares. In this strip of nature it is possible to stop and spend a few hours in peace walking among the islets joined together by wooden bridges, pausing to watch the geese and other water birds swim, fish and chase each other in the water; to finish then reading the Ferrara fable "The three ocarinas" which develops on the lawn up to the fallow deer enclosure. From the Oasi Trava you can reach, with an easy and beautiful bike route of only 4 km, the Oasis Anse Vallive in Porto - Bacino di Bando.
Events and parties
- Ancient Fair of Portomaggiore.
third week of September. Review of agricultural machinery and field processing tests. There are also food stands and art exhibitions in the streets of the historic center. During the ancient Fair the famous dialectal poetry contest is held in which many artists of provincial and regional level participate.
third week of September. Review of agricultural machinery and field processing tests. There are also food stands and art exhibitions in the streets of the historic center. During the ancient Fair the famous dialectal poetry contest is held in which many artists of provincial and regional level participate.What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Il Pallino Restaurant, Via Edmondo De Amicis, 23.
- 2 Chinese - Japanese Restaurant Wang Hong, via Roma 1, ☎ 39 0532814885.
- 3 Trattoria La Rondinella, Via S. Carlo, 24 (in Portoverrara).
Where stay
Average prices
- 1 Hotel Da Pippi, Via Eppi Carlo, 22G, ☎ 39 0532814696.
Safety
- 1 Carabinieri - Company Command, Piazza XX Settembre, 15, ☎ 390532325700.
- 2 Santi Pharmacy, Piazza Umberto I, 16, ☎ 390532811080.
- 3 Sabbioni Pharmacy, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 2, ☎ 390532811064.
How to keep in touch
Post office
- 4 Italian post, Via Camillo Benso Count of Cavour, 8, ☎ 390532325911.
Around
- Ferrara - Its historic center has the imprint of the Este family, who made it a city rich in monuments and well-organized urban planning; L'Herculean addition the urban period increased, enriching it with valuable buildings and large districts interspersed with green spaces, with an almost modern conception of urban spaces. The countryside around the city was enriched with Este Delights, for which Ferrara received the second award UNESCO.
- Comacchio - It extends over 13 islets, between a tangle of canals and bridges that give it a lagoon and Venetian air. It has beautiful monuments, and in its vicinity boasts the ancient settlement of Spina, a Greek-Etruscan city whose excavations have yielded numerous archaeological material now kept in the Museum of Ferrara, and the famous Pomposa Abbey.
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Portomaggiore
Commons contains images or other files on Portomaggiore
