Nonantola
Encyclopedia : N : NO : NON : Nonantola
| Città di Nonantola | |
|---|---|
| |
| Area | 55 km² |
| Location | |
| Population | 12,466 |
| Population density | 227 /km² |
| Province | Modena |
| Region | Emilia Romagna |
| Name of inhabitants | Nonantolani |
| Mayor | Pier Paolo Borsari (since June 14, 2004) |
| Official Site | [www.comune.nonantola.mo.it] |
Nonantola is a city in the Modena province of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is located about 10 km from Modena on the road to Ferrara, and contains several remains from the Middle Ages. These include the two towers called dei Modenesi and dei Bolognesi, and the Pieve of S. Michael Archangel (9th century). The main monument, however, is the famous abbey of San Sylvester, a Romanesque monument erected from the 8th century onwards.
History
The Benedictine former monastery and prelature nullius, six miles north-east of Modena, was founded in 752 by the Lombard duke of Friuli, St. Anselm, and supplanted the old Roman colony. It was richly endowed by Aistulph, King of the Longobards; of the latter's edifices only traces remain. Stephen II appointed Anselm its first abbot, and presented the relics of St. Sylvester to the abbey, named in consequence S. Sylvester de Nonantula. After the death of Aistulph (756), Anselm was banished to Monte Cassino by the new king, Desiderius, but was restored by Charlemagne after seven years.In the High Middle Ages Nonantola held some importance, as it was chosen for the meeting in 883 between Pope Marinus I and the emperor Charles the Fat. Pope Hadrian III was buried here.
In the year 890 the city and the monastery were devastated by Hungarian marauders. Later Nonantola's history is connected to that of the monastery.
Up to 1083 it was an imperial monastery, and its discipline often suffered severely on account of imperial interference in the election of abbots. In the beginning of the Conflict of Investitures it sided with the emperor, until forced to submit to the pope by Mathilda of Tuscany in 1083. It finally declared itself openly for the pope in 1111. In that year the famous monk Placidus of Nonantola wrote his "De honore Ecclesiæ", one of the most able and important defences of the papal position that were written during the Conflict of Investitures. It is printed in Pez "Thesaurus Anecdot. noviss." (Augsburg, 1721), II, ii, 73 sq.
It decayed badly from the 13th century onwards; the final decline of the monastery began in 1419, when it came under the jurisdiction of commendatory abbots.
The city was disputed between Modena and Bologna until it fell under Este's suzerainty (as an autonomous commune) in 1412. A constitution was issued in 1419. Nonantola remained a pacific agricultural centre well into the 17th century, when it had several urbanistic renovations.
In 1514 the abbey came into the possession of the Cistercians, but continued to decline until it was finally suppressed by Clement XIII in 1768.
Pius VII restored it 23 January, 1821, with the provision that the prelature nullius attached to it should belong to the Archbishop of Modena.
In the Napoleonic Wars the abbey lost all its territories, which were acquired by the count Leonardo Salimbeni. His palace was sold to the Commune of Nonantola in 1898, becoming the town Hall. In this age the agriculture started dying out, as the Modenese nobles used archaic methods of cultivation, and industries, trade and water were lacking.
In 1909 the exempt district comprised 42,980 inhabitants, 31 parishes, 91 churches and chapels. 62 secular priests and three religious congregations for women. The monastery itself was appropriated by the Italian Government in 1866.
During the German occupation in World War II the Nonantolesi hosted 73 Jewish boys, enabling them flee to Switzerland.
Today Nonantola has achieved renowned status as an increasingly important cultural and tourist resort.
Sources and references
(incomplete)- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.
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