Known in antiquity as “Neroma” and later “Caput Gauri”, Codigoro takes its name from the river Goro that with the Volano represented the first water resources on which to base the wealth and growth of the town. A destination for fishermen and hunters, its history dates back to the 9th century, when the Benedictine community started its population growth. The territory of Pomposa was the place where the first settlements started and from the same is dated the construction of the Abbey which immediately gave great prestige to the city. In the middle of the 1100s the surrounding canals and the great water resources were lost and with them the interests of conquest by the Ferrarese and the Benedictines who abandoned the lands diminished. A first reclaim of the lands were in 1464, while towards the end of the nineteenth century dated the construction of a first water-drainage plant, thanks to which the city resumed its definitive development. Now its lands are totally stabe in the Po Valley, within the Regional Park of the Po Delta.
Pomposa Abbey
Today, the pomposian complex consists on the Abbey Church of Santa Maria with its bell tower, the chapter hall, the refectory, the so-called “Sala delle Stilate” and the dormitory (now Museo Pomposiano) which describe the cloister, missing from the west side; it also includes the “Palazzo della Ragione” and the enclosure of the cemetery of the monks located at north of the church. The most ancient part of the Basilica of Santa Maria dated back to the VII-IX century; in the eleventh century, the basilica was extended with the addition of two bays and the atrium decorated with terracotta friezes, oculi and majolica bowls. The interior of the church has three naves, divided by Roman and Byzantine columns. The precious opus sectile marble floor is dated to different periods (from the 6th to the 12th century). On the walls there are fourteenth-century frescoes of the Bolognese school, with stories from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Apocalypse and, on the counter-façade, a representation of the Last Judgment. Its importance is also due to the preservation and dissemination of culture during the Middle Ages thanks to the monks who resided there. In this abbey the monk Guido of Arezzo conceived the modern musical notation and fixed the name of the musical notes.
Address
Pomposa Abbey: street Pomposa Centro, 12 S.S. 309 Romea – 44021 Codigoro (Fe)
Contacts
Municipality of Codigoro – cultural office: Ph.+39 0533 729585/6