// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Vergato say to his date? You verge on being great.
Vergato | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Vergato | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Vergato Location of Vergato in Italy  Vergato Vergato (Emilia-Romagna) | |
| Coordinates: 44°17′0.96″N 11°6′29.88″E / 44.2836000°N 11.1083000°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Emilia-Romagna |
| Metropolitan city | Bologna (BO) |
| Frazioni | Amore, Calvenzano, Carbona, Castelnuovo, Cereglio, Lissano, Pieve Roffeno, Pioppe, Prunarolo, Riola, Susano, Tabina, Tolè |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Giuseppe Argentieri (Vergato Nel Cuore) |
| Area | |
• Total | 59.94 km2 (23.14 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 193 m (633 ft) |
| Population (1 January 2025)[2] | |
• Total | 7,845 |
| • Density | 130.9/km2 (339.0/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Vergatesi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 40038 |
| Dialing code | 051 |
| ISTAT code | 037059 |
| Patron saint | Our Lady of Providence |
| Saint day | First Sunday after Easter |
| Website | Official website |
Vergato (Medial Mountain Bolognese: Vargà or Varghè) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It is located in the Bolognese Apennines, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Bologna, in the valley of the Reno river.
Vergato is one of the main settlements of the Reno valley and is the administrative seat of the Unione dei comuni dell'Appennino Bolognese.[3] The town is connected with Bologna by the Porrettana railway and by the Porrettana State Road.
Vergato borders the municipalities of Castel d'Aiano, Gaggio Montano, Grizzana Morandi, Marzabotto, Valsamoggia and Zocca.
Name
[edit]A local etymology connects the name Vergato with vergato or vergatino, a striped fabric historically produced in the area.[4]
Geography
[edit]The town lies in an alluvial basin where the Vergatello stream flows into the Reno river. Its municipal territory extends from the Reno valley to the surrounding slopes of the Bolognese Apennines, with elevations ranging approximately from 154 metres (505 ft) to 983 metres (3,225 ft) above sea level. It includes several villages and localities, including Riola, Tolè, Cereglio, Castelnuovo, Calvenzano, Carbona, Susano, Pioppe, Tabina, Lissano, Prunarolo, Amore and Pieve Roffeno.
Part of the municipal territory is included in the Natura 2000 site IT4050034, Soprasasso, Montecavalloro, a protected area of 279 hectares (690 acres) characterized by sandstone cliffs, natural cavities, rocky habitats, chestnut woods and habitats of botanical and ornithological interest.[5]
History
[edit]In the 11th century, Vergato and Riola were minor settlements without major administrative or ecclesiastical functions. Vergato belonged to the parish of Liserna, while Riola belonged to that of Lissano.[6]
Vergato became more important in the second half of the 15th century, when the seat of the Capitano della Montagna was transferred there from Casio. A separate parish was established in Vergato in 1578.
Under the Napoleonic administrative reorganisation, several previously distinct territories were brought together. In 1810 the areas of Vergato, Castelnuovo and Tolè, with the exception of Rodiano, were merged into the municipality of Vergato. The municipality later became part of the Papal States and, in 1859, of the Kingdom of Italy.
The opening of the Porrettana road in 1847 and the construction of the Bologna–Pistoia railway in the 19th century changed the internal balance of the area, favouring settlements located along the main transport routes. The section of the Porrettana railway from Vergato to Pracchia was inaugurated on 21 November 1863, while the full trans-Apennine line from Bologna to Florence via Pistoia opened in 1864.[7]
Main sights
[edit]Palazzo dei Capitani della Montagna
[edit]The Palazzo dei Capitani della Montagna stands in the centre of Vergato and is now the town hall. Originally a 15th-century house, it became the seat of the Capitanato della Montagna in 1483.[8]
The present appearance of the palace is the result of reconstruction work carried out around the middle of the 20th century. Its façade preserves coats of arms connected with the Capitani della Montagna. In 1998 the palace was enriched with four stained-glass windows by the artist Luigi Ontani, now located in the municipal council chamber.
MuseOntani
[edit]The MuseOntani is a permanent exhibition located inside the municipal palace of Vergato and dedicated to the Italian artist Luigi Ontani.[9] The museum displays works by the artist, including pieces donated or made available to the municipality.
Ontani also created the fountain RenVergatellAppenninMontovolo, a marble and bronze work inaugurated on 7 April 2019 in the square in front of Vergato railway station.[10]
Riola and the Tarot Museum
[edit]Riola is a settlement in the Reno valley divided between the municipalities of Vergato and Grizzana Morandi. The part of Riola in Vergato is served by the Porrettana railway.
Riola hosts the Museo Internazionale dei Tarocchi, a museum dedicated to contemporary tarot art and iconography, located at Via Arturo Palmieri.[11]
Soprasasso Caves
[edit]The Soprasasso Caves are located above Riola, near Montecavalloro. Despite their name, they are not karst caves but cavities and fissures in sandstone, shaped by erosion and marked by rounded forms known as tafoni. The site includes the Grotta dei Piatti, Grotta Buia and Grotta di Soprasasso, and is considered a local geosite by the Emilia-Romagna Region.[12]
The area is also part of the Natura 2000 site Soprasasso, Montecavalloro, which protects sandstone outcrops and related natural habitats along the left side of the Reno valley.
Montecavalloro and medieval tower houses
[edit]The Montecavalloro area preserves examples of fortified rural architecture typical of the Bolognese Apennines. Casa Costonzo, a fortified building dated between the 13th and 14th centuries, is cited in the register of monuments of the Province of Bologna and is associated with a medieval medical school active in the Apennines.[13]
Nearby Casa Monzone is described as a 12th-century tower house preserving characteristic features of Apennine architecture, including brackets, defensive projections and stone portals.[14]
Pieve di San Pietro di Roffeno
[edit]Pieve Roffeno lies in the upper Vergatello valley, near Cereglio, along the historic Via Nonantolana. Its church of San Pietro retains the plan and some of the fabric of a 12th-century rural Romanesque pieve, although later alterations, particularly during the Baroque period, changed much of the building.[15][16]
The surviving medieval elements include the decorated semicircular apse, built in large squared sandstone blocks and attributed to Comacine masons, carved capitals and a defensive tower dating from the 14th century. Inside is a sandstone baptismal font of Lombard type, dated to around the 7th century and probably made for an earlier church. Its basin is decorated with a ring of dolphins. The church also preserves 17th-century frescoes.[17]
A pipe organ built around 1850 in the tradition of Emilian organ building and attributed to the Bolognese maker Giuseppe Guermandi originally stood in the gallery above the entrance. Damaged during the German occupation in 1944, it was dismantled and stored in cases for about eighty years. The surviving parts allowed the instrument to be reconstructed and restored by the Fratelli Bigi workshop; it returned to use in July 2025.[18]
Tolè
[edit]Tolè is a village in the municipality of Vergato known for its open-air artworks. Since 1998, the village has developed as an outdoor art site through the Artolè initiative, with murals, frescoes, terracotta works and sculptures placed in streets and small squares.[19]
Second World War
[edit]During the Second World War, Vergato was heavily affected by fighting and bombing during the Gothic Line phase of the Italian Campaign. Between 27 November 1943 and 13 October 1944 the municipality suffered 23 air raids. In the municipal territory, 1,074 buildings out of 1,755 were damaged and about 400 were completely destroyed; civilian life was disrupted, with over 400 victims and the remaining population evacuated.[20]
The Gothic Line itinerary crosses the territory of Vergato. In the area there are monuments and memorial stones dedicated to the Brazilian soldiers of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force at Castelnuovo, Boscaccio and Precaria. On Monte Pero, a former German stronghold, a ridge path preserves remains of trenches, firing positions, communication trenches and shelters.[21]
On 17 April 2002, the President of the Italian Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, awarded Vergato the Gold Medal of Civil Merit for the suffering and solidarity shown by the local population during the war.[22]
Transport
[edit]Vergato is served by Vergato railway station, on the Porrettana railway, which links Bologna with Pistoia through the Apennines. The municipal territory is also served by the stations of Pioppe di Salvaro, Carbona and Riola. The town is crossed by the SS64 Porrettana road.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
- ↑ "Comune di Vergato (BO)". Tuttitalia (in Italian). Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Vergato". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Dove siamo". Comune di Vergato (in Italian). Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "IT4050034 - SIC-ZPS - Soprasasso, Montecavalloro". Regione Emilia-Romagna (in Italian). Regione Emilia-Romagna. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "Cenni storici". Comune di Vergato (in Italian). Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Inaugurazione del tratto Vergato-Pracchia della Ferrovia Porrettana". bologna.online (in Italian). Biblioteca Salaborsa. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Palazzo dei Capitani della Montagna". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "MuseOntani". MuseOntani (in Italian). Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "RenVergatellAppenninMontovolo". MuseOntani (in Italian). Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Museo internazionale dei Tarocchi". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Grotte di Soprasasso". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "Montecavalloro (Vergato), casa "Costonzo": esterno". Digital Humanities (in Italian). Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "Montecavalloro (Vergato), casa "Monzone": esterno". Digital Humanities (in Italian). Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "Vergato". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Pieve di Roffeno". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Pieve di Roffeno". Appennino Bolognese (in Italian). Città metropolitana di Bologna. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "L'organo antico torna a suonare". Patrimonio culturale (in Italian). Regione Emilia-Romagna. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 14 July 2026.
- ↑ "Tolè borgo artistico". bologna.online (in Italian). Biblioteca Salaborsa. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Vergato distrutta dal cielo". bologna.online (in Italian). Biblioteca Salaborsa. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ "Gothic Line Bologna" (PDF). eXtraBO / Bologna Welcome. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "Intervento del Presidente della Repubblica Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in occasione della consegna della Medaglia d'Oro Al Merito Civile al Gonfalone del Comune di Vergato". Archivio storico della Presidenza della Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 22 May 2026.