BOLOGNA CIVITAS

Bologna has been selected by Roberto Amati in relation to the real history of european integration, then enlisted in the CITY OR CIVITAS category, accompanied by own fact SHEET useful to the comprehension, completed of historical MAPS AND IMAGES or with a direct linking to the related Blog contents dedicated to the entire history of european integration and the future of Europe.

Bologna is one of the most ancient cities of the history of European integration, signed in great part by Christianity. The Civitas Bologna was founded centuries BC during the "Villanova culture", built by Etruscan people and successively occupied by Celts Boi tribe that named "Bona", used in 196 BC by Romans to establish the Colonia Bononia inhabited by families of Latin veterans which received large pieces of the public land (Ager Romanus) to share with the local people. Bologna was in a strategic point at the crossing of many ancient roman ways: the Claudia Augusta Way starting from to the civitas of Milan passing through Augsburg and Verona to end in Florence; the Julia Way starting from Bologna and passing through the civitas of Aquileia and the Noricum province until the actual city of Innsbruck; the Aemilia Way going to Rimini, the arrival point of the Adriatica way running all along the homonimus sea and starting from the civitas of Bari.

Within the reform of Augustus (see Roman Empire), Bologna was included into the Regio VIII Emilia of the Italiae province, while with the reform of Constantine I (see Christian Empire), Bologna became part of the imperial Italiae Diocesis and obtained the rank of archbishop, becouse of its originary christian community. After the Gothic War and the invasion of Lombards, Bologna was included in the the Exarchate of Ravenna until it was conquered and joined to the the Lombards reign in 728 AD.

In late VIII century AD the northern Italy was conquered by Charlemagne and Bologna was included into the Italy Regnum and ceded to the Patrimonium Petri of the Roman Church, so that the city became a study of law centre and in 1088 AD was elevated as seat of a famous and still existing University: it was the centre of a juridical dispute between the Pope and the Reich emperor during the "guelfi&ghibellini" war in Middle Age. When Bologna entered the Lombard League and won the war, the town got the "free town" title from imperial powers and expanded rapidly as one of the main commercial trade points of northern Italy, thanks to the system of ways and canals directed to the city centre.

During Renaissance epoch, Bologna grew up as a political centre in Italy, always under the control of Popes and the city oligarchy: in 1530 AD in its cathedral was crowned the emperor Charles V and were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the main buildings of the university. The period of Papal rule saw also the construction of many churches and other religious establishments (up to ninety-six convents!), while painters working in Bologna during that period established the famous "Bolognese School". After that the city started its decline, following the destiny of the Roman Church State, until the annexation to the Italia kingdom in XIX century AD.

The city rebirth in modern era and became a central italian excellence point for administration, culture, services and gastronomy, still hosting one of the most ancient universities of Europe (then called "the learned city"), Bologna's lengthy porticoes is enlisted in the UNESCO Wordl Heritage. Nowadays, Bologna is a medium size city of Italy, elevated capital of the metropolitan city within the Italian Republic and of the Emilia-Romagna region, whose patron St. Petronius was the bishop who refounded the ancient christian community in V century AD.

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