๐ฎ๐น Nonantola is a town and comune in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is in the Po Valley about 10 km (6 mi) from Modena on the road to Ferrara.
History In ancient times the territory of Nonantola was inhabited by the Celtic tribes, more specifically by the Boii. After the Roman conquest of Northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul) the Boii were subjugated, and as a result they started to slowly speak Latin, giving rise to the local Gallo-Romance language, a variety of Gallo-Italic languages. Nonantola's history is strongly connected to the Benedictine monastery founded by the Lombards. Its creation in 752 totally supplanted the old Roman past and was the premise of Nonantola's High Middle Ages 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 town and the monastery were devastated by Hungarian marauders. Nonantola 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 the Napoleonic Wars the abbey lost all its territories, which were acquired by the count Leonardo Salimbeni. In 1898 his palace, which once belonged to the monastery, was sold to the comune of Nonantola, 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.
During the German occupation in World War II the Nonantolani hosted 73 Jewish children, enabling them to flee to Switzerland. The city was awarded a Cross of War Medal for Military Valour for this feat and for its contribution to the Italian resistance movement.
Today Nonantola is an increasingly important cultural and tourist resort.
Abbey Nonantola Abbey a Benedictine monastery, was founded in 752 by the Lombard duke of Friuli, St. Anselm. It was richly endowed by King Aistulph, but of the older edifices only traces remain. Pope 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. 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 Matilda of Canossa in 1083. It finally declared itself openly for the pope in 1111 when Placidus of Nonantola wrote his De honore Ecclesiรฆ, a defence of the papal position during the Conflict of Investitures.
From the 13th century onwards the monastery decayed badly; the final decline began in 1419, when it came under the jurisdiction of commendatory abbots. 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.
On 23 January 1821 Pius VII restored the monastery, with the provision that its prelature nullius should belong to the Archbishopric of Modena.
Tourist Industry Nonantola 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 renowned abbey of San Sylvester Romanesque basilica, erected from the 8th century onwards. In the years 1913โ17 it was restored to its original early 12th-century condition.
Nonantola has a population of over 15,921 people. Nonantola also forms part of the wider Modena Province which has a population of over 701,000 people. Nonantola is situated near Modena.
Twin Towns - Sister Cities Nonantola has links with:
๐ซ๐ท Les Mureaux, France๐บ๐ธ Plattsburgh 44.683
๐ฎ๐น Reggio Emilia 44.696
๐ท๐บ Novorossiysk 44.723
๐ท๐บ Nevinnomyssk 44.633
๐ท๐ธ Poลพarevac 44.617
๐ฉ๐ช Erfurt-Stotternheim 11.033
๐ฎ๐น Emilia-Romagna 11.039
๐ฉ๐ช Halberstadt 11.057
๐ฉ๐ช Garmisch-Partenkirchen 11.083
Locations Near: Nonantola 11.0333,44.6667
๐ฎ๐น Modena 10.934,44.643 d: 8.3
๐ฎ๐น Emilia-Romagna 11.039,44.526 d: 15.7
๐ฎ๐น Carpi 10.883,44.783 d: 17.6
๐ฎ๐น Bologna 11.347,44.494 d: 31.4
๐ฎ๐น Reggio Emilia 10.641,44.696 d: 31.2
๐ฎ๐น Mantua 10.792,45.165 d: 58.6
๐ฎ๐น Ferrara 11.619,44.838 d: 50.1
๐ฎ๐น Parma 10.34,44.799 d: 56.7
Antipodal to: Nonantola -168.967,-44.667
๐น๐ด Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 17336.4
๐ฆ๐ธ Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16632.2
๐ผ๐ธ Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16576.3
๐ต๐ซ Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 16498.2
๐บ๐ธ Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 12717.7
๐บ๐ธ Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 12634
๐บ๐ธ Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12620.8
๐บ๐ธ Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12616