Rovigo

For the Renaissance composer, see Francesco Rovigo.

Rovigo
—  Comune  —
Comune di Rovigo
Piazza Victor Emanuel II.
Coat of arms
Rovigo Location of Rovigo in Italy
Coordinates: 45°12′N 11°48′E / 45.2°N 11.8°E / 45.2; 11.8Coordinates: 45°12′N 11°48′E / 45.2°N 11.8°E / 45.2; 11.8
Country	Italy
Region	Veneto
Province	Rovigo (RO)
Frazioni	see list
Government
- Mayor	Fausto Merchiori (since June 2006)
Area
- Total	108 km2 (41.7 sq mi)
Elevation	6 m (20 ft)
Population (31 January 2009)
- Total	52,206
- Density	483.4/km2 (1,252/sq mi)
- Demonym	Rodigini
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	45100
Dialing code	0425
Patron saint	San Bellino
Saint day	November 26
Website	Official website

Church "La Rotonda".

Rovigo is a town and comune in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. (It should not be confused with the town of Bougara in Algeria which previously, under French rule, was called Rovigo.)

Geography

Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, 80 km by rail SW of Venice and 40 km SSW of Padua, and on the Adigetto Canal. The comune of Rovigo extends between the rivers Adige and Canal Bianco, 40 km W of the Adriatic Sea, except the frazione of Fenil del Turco that extends south of the Canal Bianco.

Polesine is the name of the low ground between the lower courses of the rivers Adige and Po and the sea; the derivation of the name is much discussed, generally applied only to the province of Rovigo, but is sometimes extended to the neighborhood of Adria and Ferrara.

Ancient map of Rovigo.

History

Rovigo (both Rodigium and Rhodigium in Latin script) appears to be first mentioned in a document from Ravenna dating April 24, 838; the origin of the name is uncertain. In 920 it was selected as his temporary residence by the bishop of Adria, Paolo Cattaneo, on the destruction of his city by the Hungarian ravagers; the fortifications started by him were already finished in 945. The viscounts of Rovigo built a line of brick walls in the 1130s in the name of the House of Este. The current Torre Donà is a remnant of the castle built some time in between; it is 66 m high and it may have been the highest brick tower at that time if the date of construction is correct.

In 1194 Rovigo became a formal possession of Azzo VI d'Este, duke of Ferrara, who took the title of conte (count) of Rovigo. The Este authority ended in 1482, when the Venetians took the place by siege and retained possession of it by the peace of 1484. Although the Este recovered the city during the War of the League of Cambrai, the Venetians, returning in 1514, retained possession till the French Revolution. In 1806 Napoleon I Bonaparte created it a duché grand-fief for general Anne Jean Marie René Savary. The Austrians in 1815 created it a royal city.

Rovigo was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861; in 1866 it was connected by railway to Padua, Ferrara, Verona (through Legnago), and Chioggia (through Adria). In the 1900s the first modern industries were established, the most important of these was a sugar refinery. In 1927 the territory of the comune was extended to the extent it has now by including near former municipalities. In 1937 the course of the Adigetto Canal was diverted to the west edge of the town and a large avenue Corso del Popolo was built in place of the former course. In the years 1943–1945 Rovigo was part of the Italian Social Republic and it has been in Italy since 1946. In the 1950s and 1960s Rovigo had a dramatic development and it had the highest urbanization rate among the towns in the Veneto region after World War II.

Main sights

The architecture of the town bears the stamp both of Venetian and of Ferrarese influence. Main sights include:

• Ruins of the Castle (10th century), of which two towers remain
• Church of Madonna del Soccorso, best known as La Rotonda. If was built between 1594 and 1606 by Francesco Zamberlan of Bassano, a pupil of Palladio, to house a miraculous image of a sitting Madonna with Child carrying a rose. The edifice has octagonal plan, surrounded by a portico, begun in 1594. The original construction had a cupola, which was later substituted by a simple ceiling for static reasons. The fine campanile, standing at 57 m, was built according to plans by Baldassarre Longhena (1655–1673). The walls of the interior of the church are wholly covered by 17th centuries paintings by prominent provincial and Venetian artists, including Francesco Maffei, Domenico Stella, Giovanni Abriani, Alessandro Varotari (il Padovanino), Pietro Vecchia, Pietro Liberi, Antonio Zanchi and Andrea Celesti.
• Cathedral (Duomo, entitled to St. Stephen), originally built before the 11th century, but rebuilt in 1461 and again in 1696. The art works of the interior includes a Resurrection of Christ by Palma the Younger.
• Church of the Immacolata Concezione (1213).
• Church of St. Francis, in Gothic-Romanesque style but with extensive intervention from the 19th century. The belfry is from 1520. In the interior are several Saints sculpltures by Tullio Lombardo (1526).
• The Town hall, which contains a library including some rare early editions, belonging to the Accademia de Concordi, founded in 1580, and a fair picture gallery enriched with the spoils of the monasteries.
• Palazzo Roverella, largely restored but still a good example of Renaissance architecture.
• Palazzo Roncale, a fine Renaissance building by Sanmicheli (1555).
• Palazzo Venezze (1715)
• Pinacoteca dei Concordi ("Concordi Gallery") houses important paintings, including a Madonna with Child and Christ with the Cross by Giovanni Bellini, a Flagellation of Christ by Palma the Elder, a Venus with the Mirror by Jan Gossaert, and portraits by Tiepolo and Alessandro Longhi.

Frazioni

Barchessa Candiani, Basso Cavallo, Boara Polesine, Boaria San Marco, Borsea, Braga-Cantonazzo, Buso, Busovecchio, Ca'Bianca, Ca'Matte, Ca'Lunga, Campagna Terzi, Campagnazza, Cantonazzo, Capolavia, Ca'Rangon, Concadirame, Corte Lazzarini, Fenile Morosina, Fenil del Turco, Granzette, Grignano Polesine, Grompo, Grumolo, Le Cassette, Le Giarelle, Le Sorbolaro, L'Olmo, Mardimago, Roverdicrè, San Sisto, Santa Libera, Santa Rita, Sant'Apollinare, Sarzano, Spianata.

Twin cities

• Bedford, United Kingdom
• Tulcea, Romania
• Satonévri, Burkina Faso (international cooperation)
• Schlanders, Italy (friendship)
• Viernheim, Germany

Sport

Rovigo is home of Rugby Rovigo. Other practiced sports include football, swimming and handball.

Transportation

Rovigo has a railway station on the line between Bologna and Padua, with branches to Legnago, Verona, Mantua and Chioggia.

See also

• Bishopric of Adria

Sources

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• (Italian) various authors, Rovigo. Ritratto di una Città., Minelliana - Rovigo, 1988.

External links

• Heraldica.org - Napoleonic heraldry
• provincial website, in Italian
• Map of Rovigo

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