Cento | ||
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Comune | ||
Comune di Cento | ||
Castle (Rocca) of Cento.
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Location of Cento in Italy | ||
Coordinates: 44°44′N 11°17′E / 44.733°N 11.283°ECoordinates: 44°44′N 11°17′E / 44.733°N 11.283°E | ||
Country | Italy | |
Region | Emilia-Romagna | |
Province / Metropolitan city | Ferrara (FE) | |
Frazioni | Alberone, Buonacompra, Casumaro, Corporeno, Molino Albergati, Pilastrello, Renazzo, Reno Centese, XII Morelli | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Fabrizio Toselli | |
Area | ||
• Total | 64 km2 (25 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) | |
Population (31 December 2014) | ||
• Total | 35,837 | |
• Density | 560/km2 (1,500/sq mi) | |
Demonym(s) | Centesi | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
Postal code | 44042 | |
Dialing code | 051 | |
Patron saint | St. Blaise Bishop and Martyr | |
Saint day | February 3 | |
Website | Official website |
Cento is a town and comune in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
The name Cento is a reference to the centuriation of the Po Valley. Cento's growth from its origin as a little fishing village in the marshes to an established farming town took place in the first few centuries in the second millennium.
The Bishop of Bologna and the Abbot of Nonantola established the Partecipanza Agraria, an institution in which land would perpetually be redistributed every twenty years among the male heirs of the families who constituted the initial core of the community in the 12th century.
In 1502 Pope Alexander VI took it away from the dominion of the Bishop of Bologna and made it part of the dowry of his daughter Lucrezia Borgia, betrothed to Duke Alfonso I d'Este and was later returned to the Papal States in 1598.
South-east of the city lies the small historic fortification of Pieve di Cento.
Cento is the European's city of Carnival and it is twinned with Rio carnival.
The nearby center of Renazzo is known in the astronomical community because of the Renazzo meteorite, which fell in 1824 and it is considered the prototype of a class of carbonaceous chondrites known as "CR group" (where the "R" comes from the name Renazzo).
Cento is twinned with: