The Historical Centre of Carpi, Emilia Romagna
The historical centre of Carpi can be found around the Piazza Re Astolfo, Palazzo dei Pio, Piazza Martiri. The name Carpi comes from the Po valley landscape in medieval times, when the hornbeam tree (carpinus betulus) was particularly widespread. The establishment of a real settlement can be connected to the foundation of St. Mary's church in the castle (according to tradition, in 752) by the Longobard king Astolfo.
The church represents the center of the medieval village which was recorded in a Xth century document, as "Castro Carpense". The old square castle was surrounded by a moat and a wooden fortress, which was later replaced by a brick wall. The road network was based on a right-angled plan which expanded off a main road, running from north to south, which terminated at the two gates of the city walls.
The square in the centre of the castle (the actual King Astolfo Square) was almost divided in two by St. Mary's church , called the "Sagra" after the official consecration in 1184.Here, stood the noblemen's houses, that governed Carpi from the Xth century until 1331. Then it belonged to the Pio family.
Outside the walls, between the XIII and XIV centuries several small villages sprang up, to eventually become the nucleus of the future town. Between 1331 and 1525 Carpi became the permanent fiefdom of the Pio family (then Pio di Savoia). The city gained importance and changed its structure with new fortified buildings and later on Alberto Pio III, had his residence and the urban layout rearranged, which represents the actual historical centre of Carpi.
Several buildings were added to the castle between the XIV and XV centuries not only as fortifications but also for living purposes and as such, they were richly decorated.
These features are still visible today in some parts of the Palace, in the Rocca Nuova (north wing), in the Rocca Vecchia (east wing), in the Torrione degli Spagnoli and in the Uccelliera.
The entire noble abode was transformed completely by Alberto Pio III at the end of the 1400's, beginning of the 1500's into a Renaissance styled palace.
After these alterations in 1504, the entire complex assumed the look of a real Renaissance court with the courtyard of honour in the centre, clearly a Bramante inspiration.
The main element which not only changed the structureof the Pio residence but also the entire urban arrangement of the town, was the construction of the building's facade to the west, on Borgo Gioioso (the actual Piazza dei Martiri) which is the axis of the Renaissance urban arrangement, replacing the Medieval layout centred around the actual Piazza Re Astolfo.
When the new city wall was erected between the fourteen and fifteen hundreds the older villages were included i.e. the Superior village and Sant'Antonio) on the west side of the actual Piazza dei Martiri.
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