With the arrival of the Romans, at the beginning
of the II century b.C., Reggio Emilia (Regium Lepidi) became an urban center
as part of the road network built along via Emilia, while the surrounding
plain was drained and settled. Scattered remains testify to a period of
intense economic activity for the entire imperial period until the barbaric
invasions.
From the 8th century, the continuity of civil powers and the
permanence of the urban structures were guaranteed by the Bishop. In the
11th century the heart of Matilde's domain was the Reggio territory,
fortified by an imposing series of castles. In 1077 one of the most famous
episodes in the war of Investitures took place within the city walls of
Canossa: the Emperor Henry IV, in the guise of a pilgrim, appeals to Pope
Gregory VII for the annulment of his excommunication. Meanwhile, the free
municipalities are being born on the ashes of feudalism: Reggio is among the
first.
At the beginning of the 15th century, it comes under the power of the
Este Family. Prominent figures mark the Renaissance period of Reggio: from Matteo Maria Boiardo, the Count of Scandiano, the great poet of Orlando
Innamorato, who was governor of Reggio towards the end of the 15th century,
to Ludovico Ariosto, the great poet of Orlando Furioso, born in Reggio in
1474. The 17th and 18th centuries were tormented by wars, plagues and the
plundering of works of art.
In intervals of peace, the creativity of Reggio
citizens expressed itself in the construction of sumptuous palaces and many
religious buildings, prominent among which is the striking
Basilica della Ghiara, erected in the
first half of the seventeenth century with the contribution of exceptional
artists and the amazing development of silk art. On 7 January 1797, Reggio,
the first site of the Italian parliament, on the occasion of the birth of
the Cispadane Republic, saw the birth of the "Tricolore",
the future Italian flag.
The spirit of resistance lived on in Reggio during
the twenty years of fascism, culminating in the fight for liberation. In
recognition of the part played by the city in the re-conquest of freedom,
the Reggio Emilia standard was decorated with the gold medal for military valour.
