Romagna

Romagna(Romagnol:Rumâgna) is an Italianhistorical regionthat approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-dayEmilia-Romagnainnorthern Italy.
The nameRomagnaoriginates from theLatinnameRomania, which originally was the generic name for "land inhabited by Romans", and first appeared on Latin documents in the 5th century AD. It later took on the more specific meaning of "territory subjected toEastern Romanrule", whose citizens called themselves Romans (Romaniin Latin;Ῥωμαῖοι,Rhomaîoiin Greek). Thus the termRomaniacame to be used to refer to the territory administered by theExarchate of Ravennain contrast to other parts ofNorthern ItalyunderLombardrule, namedLangobardiaorLombardy.
Romagna is traditionally limited by theApenninesto the south-west, theAdriaticto the east, and the riversRenoandSillaroto the north and west. To the southeast, the valley formed by theConca riverhas historically formed a buffer region between the regions of Romagna and theMarche.
The region's major cities includeCesena,Faenza,Forlì,Imola,Ravenna, andRimini. The independentRepublic of San Marinois considered by some to be part of the region.
Romagnol culture exerts a considerable influence over theMontefeltrohistorical region, on the borders between Emilia-Romagna,Tuscany, and theMarche. On 15 August 2009, seven municipalities were transferred from theProvince of Pesaro and Urbinoto theProvince of Rimini:Casteldelci,Maiolo,Novafeltria,Pennabilli,San Leo,Sant'Agata FeltriaandTalamello.On 17 June 2021, the municipalities ofMontecopioloandSassofeltriofollowed.
A number ofarchaeological sitesin the region, such asMonte Poggiolo, show that Romagna has been inhabited since thePaleolithicage.
TheUmbri, speaking anextinctItalic languagecalledUmbrian, are the first traceable inhabitants of the region. TheEtruscansalso dwelt in some portions of Romagna.
In the 5th century BC, variousGaulishtribes, most notably theLingones,SenonesandBoii, moved south into Ithe Italian peninsula, andsacked Romein 390 BC. The Senones subjugated the Umbri and settled in Romagna, extending south toAncona, with their capital atSena Gallica(Senigallia). The lands formerly inhabited by the Senones were known asager Gallicus(Gallic plain) to the Romans.
According to the ItalianlinguistGiacomo Devoto, there are still a number ofCelticsubstratain theRomagnolo dialect.
In 295 BC, theRoman Republicwon a decisive victory at theBattle of Sentinumagainst a coalition of Umbris, Senones,Samnites, andEtruscans. To consolidate their victory, thecoloniaofAriminum(Rimini) was founded in southern Romagna in 268 BC, alongside the construction of theVia Flaminia, running from Rome toAriminum.Rome was further strengthened by their victory over Celtic tribes at theBattle of Telamonin 225 BC, leading to the Romanhegemonyover the newRoman ProvinceofCisalpine Gaulcentred atMutina(modernModena).
After theSecond Punic War, the pro-CarthaginianLingonesandSenoniwere expelled. To consolidate the Roman rule in the region, in 187 BC, theVia Aemiliawas completed fromAriminumtoPiacentia(Piacenza). A series of colonies were founded along the route; in Romagna, these includedForum Livii(Forlì),Forum Cornellii(Imola), andForum Popilii(Forlimpopoli). The Lex Julia of 90 BC, following theSocial War, grantedRoman citizenshipto allmunicipiasouth of theRiver Po.
DuringSulla's civil warin 82 to 82 BC, most of the colonies supportedGaius Marius.Forum LiviiandCaesena(Cesena) were razed to ground, and the region was looted byLucius Cornelius Sulla's victorious army.
TheFirst Triumviratedivided the Roman Republic along the infamousRubicon. Most of the colonies in present-day Romagna were ruled byJulius Caesar, with the notable exception ofAriminum, south of the river. In 49 BC, Caesar, who had been residing in Ravenna, led theLegio XIIIacross the Rubicon, ignitingCaesar's civil war.
After the decisiveBattle of Actium, the reign ofAugustusstarted a centuries-long era ofPax Romana. All ofCisalpine Gaulhad been incorporated intothe Roman province of Italia. Around 7 BC, Augustus divided all ofItalyinto elevenregiones, and most of Romagna (exceptRimini) was in the eighth,Aemilia.
Towards the end of the 3rd century,Diocletianreordered the Empire into fourprefectures, each divided intodioceses, which in turn were divided intoprovinces. Under the new system, Italy was demoted to a mere Imperial province. Modern Romagna was organized into theRoman provinceofFlaminia et Picenumin thediocese of Italia Annonaria.
Ravenna, which was surrounded by swamps and marshes, prospered and steadily rose in importance, and aRoman fleetwas based at the city. It had developed into a major port on theAdriatic. However, in 330, the capital of the Empire was transferred toConstantinople, so with the fleet that stationed at Ravenna, thus weakened the coastal defence in theAdriatic.
Stepping into the 5th century, theGermanic migrationsinto the Empire further intensified. In 402,Emperor Honoriuseven moved theWestern Roman Empire's capital fromMediolanumto Ravenna, mainly because of the region's defensive terrain. 8 years later,Alaric Iof theVisigothslooted Rome. In 476,OdoacerdeposedRomulusin Ravenna, thus marking an end to theWestern Empire.
Encouraged byEmperor Zeno,Theodoric the Greatled theOstrogothsinto Italy. He entered Ravenna and murderedOdoacerin 493, establishing atwofold kingdomof the Romans and Goths. Under the Ostrogoths Italy was partly restored to its former prosperity.
In 535Justinian Iinitiated theGothic War. It was fought for 20 years, and the Ostrogoths were finally subjugated. The peninsula, depopulated and devastated, was ruled by anexarchfrom Ravenna. However, Imperial authority was maintained for barely more than a decade. In 568 newGermanic tribes, the Lombards, entered Italy, and established their capital atPavia. The Empire could barely defend the region around Ravenna and Rome, connected by a narrow strip of land passing throughPerugia, as well as a series of coastal cities. The Imperial frontier retreated toBologna.
In 727 the Lombard KingLiutprandrenewed war against the Byzantines, taking most of Romagna and besieging Ravenna itself. These territories were returned to the Byzantines in 730. In 737 the king entered Romagna once more and took Ravenna. The exarch,Eutychius, retook the region in 740, withVenetianassistance. Eventually another Lombard king,Aistulf, conquered Romagna once more, and brought an end to the exarchate in 751.
KingRudolf I of Germanyofficially ceded Romagna to thePapal Statesin 1278. However, papal control over the area long remained only nominal. The region was divided among a series of regional lords, such as theOrdelaffiof Forlì or theMalatestaof Rimini, many of them adhering to theGhibellineparty in opposition to the pro-papalGuelphs. This situation started to change in the late-15th century, when after their return to Rome from Avignon in 1378, stronger popes progressively reasserted their authority in the fragmented region. Parts of Romagna were also seized by other powers, including Venice, and most notably theRepublic of Florence, which took land up to Forlì and Cervia, building the famous city-fortress ofTerra del Sole. The Florentine Romagna remained part ofTuscanyuntil the 1920s.
In 1500Cesare Borgia, illegitimate son of PopeAlexander VI, carved out for himself an ephemeral Duchy of Romagna, but his lands were reabsorbed into the Papal States after his fall. In 1559 thePeace of Cateau-Cambrésisdivided Romagna between theFarnese familyof theDuchy of Parma and Piacenza, theHouse of Esteof theFerrara, and theDuchy of Modena and Reggio, and the Papal States. The Duchy of Ferrara was later annexed by the Papal States on the extinction of the main d'Este line in 1597, with the cadet branch retaining the Imperial fiefs of Modena and Reggio.
This situation lasted until theFrench invasionof 1796, which brought bloodshed (the massacre ofLugo, looting, heavy taxation, the destruction of Cesena University) but also innovative ideas in social and political fields. Under Napoleonic rule Romagna received recognition as an entity for the first time, with the creation of the provinces of the Pino (Ravenna) and Rubicone (Forlì). When in 1815 theCongress of Viennarestored the pre-war situation, secret anti-papal societies were formed, and riots broke out in 1820, 1830–31 and 1848.
This opposition was fuelled by theMazzinianpropaganda and the direct action ofGiuseppe Garibaldi. Men likeFelice Orsini,Piero MaroncelliandAurelio Saffiwere among the protagonists of the ItalianRisorgimento.
However, after joining theunification of Italyin 1860, Romagna was not awarded separate status by the Savoy monarchs, who were afraid of dangerous destabilizing tendencies in the wake of the popular figures cited above.
In the early 20th century the autonomy of Romagna was advocated byAldo Spallicci,Giuseppe Fuschini,Emilio Lussuand others. A movement proposing separation fromEmilia-Romagnawas created in the 1990s.
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