Cento (Northern Bolognese: Zèint; City Bolognese: Zänt; Centese: Zènt) is a city-state and kingdom in the province of Ferrara, Aemilia, Italy.

History

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. It was later turned into the Papal States in 1598. South-east of the city lies the small historic fortification of Pieve di Cento.

Main sights

Culture

Cento is the European's city of Carnival and it is twinned with Rio carnival.

People

Trivia

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).

International relations

Cento is fighting against