Carpi (Chèrp in Carpi dialect) is an Italian town of 71 952 inhabitants in the province of Modena in Emilia-Romagna. The municipality, the most populous in the province after the capital, is the main seat of the Union of Terre d'Argine, together with the municipalities of Soliera, Novi di Modena and Campogalliano. The concentration camp used during the Nazi-Fascist period is located in the hamlet of Fossoli.
Its municipal territory also includes the hamlets of Budrione, Cortile, Fossoli, Gargallo, Migliarina, Santa Croce, San Marino and San Martino Secchia.
Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, Carpi cathedral and minor
basilica since 1979. Its construction began in the 16th century and
ended three centuries later. It was heavily damaged by the 2012 Emilia
earthquake and was reopened for worship in 2017, after long restoration
works.[21]
Church of Santa Maria in Castello, known as the Sagra, is
located in Piazzale Re Astolfo. the ancient parish church was founded in
the Lombard era and later enriched with frescoes and marbles. The façade
was built in the Renaissance by Baldassarre Peruzzi and also included
elements from another religious building including some works from the
Antelami school. Next to the parish church is its high bell tower.
Patronal church of San Bernardino da Siena.
Church of Santa Chiara in
Corso Fanti which preserves the body of Camilla Pio of Savoy, founder of
the adjoining Poor Clares monastery in 1500.
Church of the Santissimo
Crocifisso (known as the Church of Christ or of the Adoration), the only
church of Baroque architecture in the city.
Church of San Nicolò with
its cloisters, a fine example of sixteenth-century architecture.
Church of Sant'Ignazio, adjacent to the episcopal seminary and home to
the diocesan museum of Carpi
Church of San Francesco d'Assisi,
already existing since the 13th century.
Church of Santa Croce in the
hamlet of Santa Croce.
Church of Sant'Agata Virgin and Martyr in
Cibeno Pile
Church of Santa Giulia in Migliarina
Former Church of
Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Carpi Synagogue, in via Rovighi, once a ghetto area, closed to worship at the beginning of the 20th century which has become the headquarters of the Fossoli Foundation. Inside, valuable architecture and some furnishings are preserved.
Piazza dei Martiri, closed on the western side by a single long
portico of 53 columns and on the northern side by the cathedral basilica
of Santa Maria Assunta, includes many monumental buildings.
Porticoes: the best known is the portico del Grano in Corso Alberto Pio,
ending in Piazza Garibaldi. In Piazza Martiri there is the Portico Lungo
(52 arches, Renaissance style). Also noteworthy is the portico of San
Nicolò, which extends from the ancient Franciscan convent for a good
part of via Berengario.
The doors and walls, demolished at the
beginning of the 20th century. In place of the route of the walls,
avenues were opened and in place of the doors to the squares. Among the
most famous are Barriera Fanti (now Piazzale Dante Alighieri), Porta
Modena (Piazzale Ramazzini) and Porta Mantova (Piazzale Marconi).
Municipal theatre, neoclassical
San Rocco Auditorium
Palazzo
Foresti, which has only been open to visitors for a few years. It
preserves numerous paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, including
paintings by some Macchiaioli.
Torre Stoffi, from the beginning of
the 16th century, in the Gargallo di Carpi area, built by the Pio
family, lords of Carpi, as a surveillance and defense work near the
Carpi Canal, close to the border with the small Estense lordship of San
Martino, had a short period as a military operation.
Torre Spuntona
present in the town of Budrione, a defensive outpost
Corte di
Fossoli, a typical rustic courtyard that had the role of a real
agricultural company, typical of Emilia.
Pio di Savoia Hunting
Casino, 16th century.
Casa Rebecchi, from the 17th century with
bas-reliefs created by the sculptor Ercole Caleffi including a bronze
door bearing the coat of arms of the noble Rebecchi family.
After the
works started in 2005, the historic center of Carpi was renovated. Most
of the columns have been re-plastered while Corso Alberto Pio and Corso
Fanti, the streets which respectively connect Piazza Martiri to Piazza
Garibaldi (small square), and Piazza Martiri to the municipal park have
been completely renovated with a new white stone floor, plants , benches
and street lamps.
In 2008, one hundred years after the
disqualification of Dorando Pietri in the marathon of the 1908 London
Olympics, a statue dedicated to the athlete was inaugurated.
Pio Castle. It overlooks the eastern side of the square and is a
group of buildings built at different times. The crenellated tower by
Passerino Bonaccolsi is medieval, while the Uccelliera, the long façade
and the tower by Galasso Pio at the left end are Renaissance. The clock
tower is next. Inside, the chapel is notable, with frescoes by
Bernardino Loschi and Vincenzo Catena.
Castelvecchio, in Piazzale Re
Astolfo, dedicated to the famous Lombard sovereign.
Museums of the Castello dei Pio including the sections Palace Museum,
City Museum, the Municipal Historical Archive and the Boys' Castle
Fossoli Foundation Center: including the Monument to the Deported
Museum, the area of the former Fossoli concentration camp and the former
synagogue in via Rovighi
Diocesan Museum "Cardinal Rodolfo Pio of
Savoy" inside the Church of Sant'Ignazio.
The Arturo Loria Multimedia Library was inaugurated on 10 November 2007 next to the Palazzo dei Pio, where Aristide Loria's straw hat factory once stood; was born from the merger of three buildings in front, the municipal library, the video library and the sound library. Inside there is an auditorium for conferences, seminars, exhibitions and meetings.
Carpi is home to four state secondary schools and an accredited professional training center for compulsory training.
San Bernardino festival. It has been held for about 500 years in
honor of the patron saint Bernardino of Siena around May 20th.
Festivalfilosofia, since 2001, an important international conference on
various philosophical themes, which also has other venues in the cities
of Modena and Sassuolo.
Storytelling festival and Arturo Loria
literary prize.
VIE Scena Contemporanea Festival, since 2005, in
autumn.
Biennial of Contemporary Xylography, since 1982 at Palazzo
Pio.
Carpinscienza, since 2016.
By plane
1 Bologna Airport, Via Triumvirato 84, ☎ +39 051 6479615.
2 Parma Airport (G. Verdi), Via Emilia - Golese, ☎ +39 0521 951511.
3
Verona Airport (Catullo), Caselle di Sommacampagna, ☎ +39 045 8095666,
contacts@aeroportoverona.it
By car
From the north (Verona)
take the A22 Brennero motorway, exit at the Carpi toll booth and
continue on the SP 468.
From Milan, take the A1 Autostrada del Sole
towards Bologna, follow the Brennero direction, continue on the A22
motorway, exit at the Carpi toll booth and continue on the SP 468.
From the South (Florence) take the A1 Autostrada del Sole towards
Bologna, follow the Brennero direction, continue on the A22 motorway,
exit at the Carpi toll booth and continue on the SP 468.
From Ancona,
take the A14 Adriatica motorway in the direction of Bologna, continue on
the A1 motorway, take the A22 Brennero motorway, exit at the Carpi toll
booth and continue on the SP 468.
From Modena take the SS 9 "Via
Emilia" in the direction of Carpi, continue on the SP 413.
On the
train
Carpi railway station is located on the Modena - Mantua -
Verona line.
By bus
Autolinee SETA (Società Emiliana Trasporti
Autofiloviari): is the main company that manages public transport in
Modena and its province.
By taxi
Carpi Taxi Area, ☎ +39 059 6550765.
The territory of Carpi belongs to the low
Modena plain. The capital is located about 20 kilometers north-west
of Modena.
According to data from the meteorological station
of Modena, it enjoys the typical temperate continental climate of
the Po valley and mid-latitudes, with moderately harsh winter,
little rain and foggy days while summer is hot and sultry,
especially in July and August. , with temperatures that can rise
above 35 ° C and with stormy rainfall. Spring and autumn are
generally rainy with milder weather.
The legend
that the foundation of Carpi was linked to the king of the Lombards
Astolfo seems completely without foundation. In fact, he founded
both the city and the parish church to honor his vow after having
found one of his falcon. And in the same way the origin of the city
linked to an exodus of populations from the Balkans seems unfounded.
The only point that seems to be historically confirmed is that
relating to the hornbeam on which the king would have found the
falcon, but only for the name, because the toponym Carpi must
actually be connected to the situation of the Po valley, at the time
rich in woods characterized from tall trees, and among these many
specimens of hornbeam.
Carpi was therefore a medieval village
of prehistoric origin (Villanovan civilization) refounded, probably
as a stronghold (castrum Carpi), in the early Middle Ages.
Lordship of Carpi
From the fourteenth century, from 1336 to 1527
it was the seat of the Lordship of Carpi and then the county of the
Pio, when the emperor Charles V took it from Albert III. In 1530 the
county, which became a principality in 1535, was given a fief to the
Este domains. In 1779 it was erected as a diocesan seat.
20th
century
During the Second World War, starting from 1942, a prison
and concentration camp was active in the hamlet of Fossoli. From
here, numerous internees were deported to extermination camps in
Germany. It later became a World War II memorial and museum. The
Municipality of Carpi has also set up the Museum-monument to the
political and racial deportee to commemorate that historical period
and regularly organizes numerous events in memory of the holocaust.
Carpi was decorated for the sacrifices of its populations and
for the activity in the partisan struggle during the conflict, which
caused many griefs in the population. For example, Odoardo Focherini
distinguished himself in the relief work for the persecuted and the
Jews, who in turn was deported to the concentration camp of
Hersbruck where he died. Gold medal of the Union of Italian
Israelite Communities in 1955, Righteous among the nations at Yad
Vashem in 1969, Focherini was remembered in 2006, on the centenary
of his birth, with important events with international guests. He
was beatified by the Church on June 15, 2013.
The Fossoli
camp was the first site of don Zeno Saltini's initiative in favor of
war orphans and the disinherited who then brought to the community
of Nomadelfia.
Carpi was hit by the 2012 Emilia earthquake,
with serious damage to the entire historic center, especially to the
artistic heritage. Numerous churches were seriously damaged,
including the Duomo, San Nicolò, San Francesco, the church of the
Sagra, and then the bishop's curia and the municipal theater. Damage
to homes was rather limited.
The city was visited by three
Presidents of the Italian Republic during their mandate (Giovanni
Leone in 1973, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2003 and Sergio Mattarella in
2017) and by six popes, the latest among them Pope John Paul II in
1988, Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 (in the hamlet of San Marino) and
Pope Francis in 2017.
Radio
Radio Bruno, local private radio station. Founded in May
1976, it broadcasts throughout the entire territory of Emilia-Romagna
and Tuscany, and in some neighboring provinces of other regions (Mantua,
Verona, Pesaro and Urbino and La Spezia).
Web Radio 5.9, a
broadcaster born in Cavezzo after the 2012 Emilia earthquake which made
itself known in the national news thanks to the television series Radio
Emilia 5.9 - My life after the earthquake broadcast on MTV from 14
January 2013. Since 2016 it has inaugurated its headquarters in Carpi
Neighborhoods
The city's territory is not officially divided into
neighborhoods, however some areas are historically defined. The area of
the historic center within the walls is considered unitary but is
divided by the toponyms still in force. The residential expansion areas
instead take their names from hamlets and localities incorporated into
the urban fabric (Quartirolo, Due Ponti, Cibeno) or from the names of
the main streets within them.
Historic center: Borgofortino –
Terranova (San Rocco) - Borgogioioso – Passo dei Cappuccini - Contrada
San Francesco
North and west: Remesina – Cibeno Pile – Osteriola –
Pezzana.
South and east: Due Ponti – Quartirolo – Nazioni – Bollitora
– Morbidina.
Budrione, Cortile, Fossoli, Gargallo, Cantone, Migliarina, Santa Croce, San Marino and San Martino Secchia
The economy of the area remained linked to agriculture at least until
the mid-19th century, which was gradually integrated with a flourishing
manufacturing activity. In particular, in this second case, it involved
both the artistic craftsmanship of scagliola processing and the
treatment of the shavings to obtain hats. These characteristics made the
Carpi area important for the entire province of Modena for a long time.
Already at the beginning of the 20th century, Carpi began to make
itself known in some particular sectors of agri-food production, such as
dairy and wine. After the Second World War the city entered a sector in
which it had remained absent until then, that of textiles and clothing,
and became known for its numerous small businesses linked to knitwear.
Like Biella, Treviso and Prato it became part of the Made in Italy
clothing industry and the pioneer of these activities was the
entrepreneur Maria Bigarelli. The best-known companies in the sector are
Blumarine, Liu Jo, Gaudì, Denny Rose and Twin-Set.
In more recent
years the textile sector entered into crisis due to competition from
Eastern European and Asian countries.
Goldoni spa, an important
agricultural machinery company, is based in Migliarina di Carpi. The
workshops of wicker weavers, rushes and chip processing are still of
some importance.