Marzocchi is an Italian manufacturer founded in 1949 by brothers Stefano and Guglielmo Marzocchi. The company profile doesn't include hydraulic industrial pumps anymore but only suspension components for motorcycles and bicycles . The Marzocchi Pompe is still in the hands of the Marzocchi Family and produces gear pumps and motors in Bologna.
98-691: In the 4th quarter of 2015 the motorcycle suspensions assets and the historic Zola Pedrosa plant was acquired by the Italian company VRM Group which continues to produce suspensions in Italy. The two brothers Stefano and Guglielmo Marzocchi (former Ducati employees) founded Marzocchi in 1949 which started the production of suspensions for large-engined motorcycles in the cellar of their home in Via Zannoni, in Bologna . In 1953 production had reached 200 pieces
196-569: A SuperbeTech derailleur, resulting in many unhappy customers. SunTour no longer had the resources to debug prototype designs before introducing them to the market, which cost the company in returns, repairs, and damaged reputation. Another blow came when the yen was revalued in 1985. SunTour could no longer compete on costs with a slew of manufacturers producing in Taiwan and other lower labor-cost countries. Existing orders had been written in foreign currencies, rather than yen, so SunTour suffered
294-461: A new exhibition centre and business district . At the end of 1978 the construction of a tower block and several diverse buildings and structures started. In 1985 the headquarters of the regional government of Emilia-Romagna moved in the new district. In 1977, Bologna was the scene of rioting linked to the Movement of 1977 , a spontaneous political movement of the time. The police shooting of
392-487: A Bolognese, tried to reverse the decline of the city with a series of reforms intended to stimulate the economy and promote the arts. However, these reforms achieved only mixed results. The pope's efforts to stimulate the decaying textile industry had little success, while he was more successful in reforming the tax system, liberalising trade and relaxing the oppressive system of censorship. The economic and demographic decline of Bologna became even more noticeable starting in
490-626: A Metropolitan Council formed by 18 mayors of municipalities within the Metro municipality. The Metropolitan City of Bologna is headed by the metropolitan mayor ( sindaco metropolitano ) and by the Metropolitan Council ( Consiglio metropolitano ). Since 21 June 2016 Virginio Merola , as mayor of the capital city, has been the mayor of the Metropolitan City. Until the late 19th century, when a large-scale urban renewal project
588-461: A bicycle gear and shifter manufacturer. Unlike other bicycle component manufacturers, Suntour did not charge what the market would bear , but instead charged a price that covered costs of production plus a small profit markup . As a result, a Suntour derailleur costing $ 10 competed against similar level products from Campagnolo ($ 40) and Shimano ($ 20). As Suntour derailleurs and shifters could be specified on many more low- and mid-priced bicycles,
686-576: A bigger market for the massive agricultural production of the Emilian plains. Indeed, Bologna gave Italy one of its first prime ministers, Marco Minghetti . After World War I , Bologna was heavily involved in the Biennio Rosso socialist uprisings. As a consequence, the traditionally moderate elites of the city turned their back on the progressive faction and gave their support to the rising Fascist movement of Benito Mussolini . Dino Grandi ,
784-416: A bull deposing and excommunicating Bentivoglio and placing the city under interdict . When the papal troops, along with a contingent sent by Louis XII of France , marched against Bologna, Bentivoglio and his family fled. Julius II entered the city triumphantly on 10 November. The period of Papal rule over Bologna (1506–1796) has been generally evaluated by historians as one of severe decline. However, this
882-582: A careful restoration and conservation policy which began at the end of the 1970s. In 2000, it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, a UNESCO "City of Music" and became part of the Creative Cities Network . In 2021, UNESCO recognized the lengthy porticoes of the city as a World Heritage Site . Bologna is an important agricultural, industrial, financial and transport hub, where many large mechanical, electronic and food companies have their headquarters as well as one of
980-436: A centre for the study of medieval Roman law under major glossators , including Irnerius. It numbered Dante , Boccaccio and Petrarch among its students. The medical school was especially renowned. By 1200, Bologna was a thriving commercial and artisanal centre of about 10,000 people. During a campaign to support the imperial cities of Modena and Cremona against Bologna, Frederick II 's son, King Enzo of Sardinia ,
1078-653: A complete line of SunTour branded components. Under these types of production agreements, companies did not have design control; if a cooperating component manufacturer decided not to upgrade or redesign its products, SunTour could do little about it. Shimano decided to greatly expand its research and development staff to 200 employees, enabling the company to end its component marketing agreements in order to produce hubs, pedals, brakes, and other components on its own in competition with its former partners. In comparison, SunTour chose to continue with its existing research and development staff of some 20 persons, and remained primarily
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#17327912514531176-592: A day, the workers had become 25 and the basement in via Zannoni had become insufficient. We then begin to plan for a necessary expansion. In 1957 the company was transferred to a more suitable "shed" in Casalecchio di Reno . In the mid-1950s, when motorcycle production suffered a sharp decline, the Marzocchi brothers thought of diversifying production, taking up a gear pump project already started within Ducati during
1274-409: A far-left activist, Francesco Lorusso , sparked two days of street clashes. On 2 August 1980, at the height of the " years of lead ", a terrorist bomb was set off in the central railway station of Bologna killing 85 people and wounding 200, an event which is known in Italy as the Bologna massacre . In 1995, members of the neo-fascist group Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari were convicted for carrying out
1372-454: A four-line tramway network is planned. The large commuter rail service centred on Bologna is branded as the Bologna metropolitan railway service . The average length of time people spend commuting with public transit in Bologna, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 53 min. 9% of public transit riders ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average length of time people wait at
1470-490: A high-ranking Fascist party official and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remembered for being an Anglophile, was from Bologna. During the interwar years , Bologna developed into an important manufacturing centre for food processing, agricultural machinery and metalworking. The Fascist regime poured in massive investments, for example with the setting up of a giant tobacco manufacturing plant in 1937. Bologna suffered extensive damage during World War II . The strategic importance of
1568-563: A leader in Europe in the production of suspensions. In the 1990s, the market diversified further. In the United States the sport of mountain biking begins to spread even at a competitive level and Marzocchi has the happy intuition of starting to produce bicycle forks that combine high technology with high performance. In 2008 the company was acquired by American automotive parts manufacturer Tenneco . Until 2007, Marzocchi manufactured
1666-423: A major Japanese maker of aluminum parts, particularly cranks and seat posts. SunTour's sales and commercial success peaked from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. SR Suntour maintains manufacturing in Taiwan and mainland China. Its products range from suspension forks to e-bike components such as motors and battery packs. Begun in 1912 as Maeda Iron Works Company manufacturing freewheels and sprockets ,
1764-599: A major loss. It had to borrow additional cash to finance a transfer of manufacturing facilities to Taiwan, as well as begin development of new mountain bike components. In 1987, SunTour introduced its new attempt at an indexed shifting system, AccuShift . AccuShift came late to the market to compete with Shimano's new SIS system introduced two years before, which cost SunTour dearly. With two years of lead time, Shimano could afford to require that bicycle manufacturers equip their bikes with complete SIS shifting systems, minimizing problems with product compatibility. SunTour, on
1862-650: A mismatched 'system' that did not provide the critical tolerances needed for reliable indexed shifting. In 1987, Japanese engineering company Mori Industries Inc. (with manufacturing plants in Taiwan) bought Sakae Ringyo Company. In 1988 the SunTour name was purchased and revived by Sakae Ringyo Company, (now owned by Mori Industries Inc.) with a capital investment of 45,000,000 NT$ in Tokyo, Japan, thus becoming SR-SunTour . The new SR-SunTour parts are not compatible with
1960-550: A number of manufacturers. Until 2007, fork production was based in Italy (apart from the entry level OEM parts, which are produced by the Taiwanese SR Suntour in Taiwan). Since 2008, all forks have been made in Taiwan. *Notable models Marzocchi Monster Triple (1999–2005) Marzocchi Super Monster Triple (2003–2005) Marzocchi Shiver (2001–2005) Marzocchi Z1 (1996) Marzocchi RAC (2001) Marzocchi 66RC (2005) This Italian corporation or company article
2058-430: A stop or station for public transit is 12 min, while 16% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 5.4 km (3.4 mi), while 7% travel for over 12 km (7.5 mi) in a single direction. At the end of 2016, the city proper had a population of 388,254 (while 1 million live in the greater Bologna area), located in
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#17327912514532156-541: A supplier of forks for numerous motorcycle manufacturers to pass a turnover of 8 million euros in 2016 to a turnover of 32 million euros in 2021. In January 2022 an agreement was signed with Zhejiang Mazhuoke Machinery Manufacturing (part of the Qianjiang Motorcycle group) for the construction of a second production plant in the Chinese province of Zheijang, south of Shanghai, to provide the suspensions for
2254-417: A third and final set of ramparts built in the 13th century, of which numerous sections survive. No more than twenty medieval defensive towers remain out of up to 180 that were built in the 12th and 13th centuries before the arrival of unified civic government. The most famous of the towers of Bologna are the central Due Torri ( Asinelli and Garisenda ), whose iconic leaning forms provide a popular symbol of
2352-792: A third of its GDP and occupies 265,000 people in the Emilia-Romagna region. Bologna is home to the Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport , the seventh busiest Italian airport for passenger traffic (8 million passengers served in 2017). Bologna Centrale railway station is one of Italy's most important train hubs thanks to the city's strategic location as a crossroad between north–south and east–west routes. It serves 58 million passengers annually. The city hosts several minor railway stations (see List of railway stations in Bologna ). Bologna San Donato classification yard , with 33 railway tracks, used to be
2450-618: A total population of 70,000) who lived in poverty. In the revolutions of 1848 the Austrian garrisons which controlled the city on behalf of the pope were temporarily expelled, but eventually came back and crushed the revolutionaries. Papal rule finally ended in the aftermath of Second War of Italian Independence , when the French and Piedmontese troops expelled the Austrians from Italian lands, on 11 and 12 March 1860, Bologna voted to join
2548-400: Is Fiera District , a tower complex designed by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange in 1985. According to the last governmental dispositions concerning administrative reorganisation, the urban area of Bologna is one of the 15 metropolitan municipalities ( città metropolitane ), new administrative bodies fully operative since 1 January 2015. The new Metro municipalities, giving large urban areas
2646-439: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a bicycle manufacturing company is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bologna Bologna ( / b ə ˈ l oʊ n j ə / bə- LOHN -yə , UK also / b ə ˈ l ɒ n j ə / bə- LON -yə , Italian: [boˈloɲɲa] ; Emilian : Bulåggna [buˈlʌɲɲɐ] ; Latin : Bononia )
2744-443: Is also increasing its investment in sustainability as part of a 2022-2024 program that integrates gender perspectives into urban planning, with an emphasis on sustainable mobility, public infrastructure, and green spaces. Traces of human habitation in the area of Bologna go back to the 3rd millennium BCE, with significant settlements from about the 9th century BCE ( Villanovan culture ). The influence of Etruscan civilization reached
2842-417: Is considered the centre of the so-called "packaging valley", an area well known for its high concentration of firms specialised in the manufacturing of automatic packaging machines ( Coesia [ it ] , IMA ). Furthermore, Bologna is well known for its dense network of cooperatives , a feature that dates back to the social struggles of farmers and workers in the 1800s and that today produces up to
2940-520: Is in this period that legendary Bishop Petronius , according to ancient chronicles, rebuilt the ruined town and founded the basilica of Saint Stephen . Petronius is still revered as the patron saint of Bologna. In 727–28, the city was sacked and captured by the Lombards under King Liutprand , becoming part of that kingdom. These Germanic conquerors built an important new quarter, called addizione longobarda (Italian meaning 'Longobard addition') near
3038-417: Is nominated and presided over by a directly elected mayor . The current mayor of Bologna is Matteo Lepore ( PD ), elected on 4 October 2021 with 61.9% of the votes. The municipality of Bologna is subdivided into six administrative boroughs ( quartieri ), down from the former nine before the 2015 administrative reform. Each borough is governed by a Council ( Consiglio ) and a president, elected contextually to
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3136-653: Is not a complete archive for the Borgo Panigale area): The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council ( Consiglio Comunale ), which is composed by 48 councillors elected every five years with a corrected proportional system (granting the majority to the list or alliance of lists which receives more votes), contextually to the mayoral elections. The executive body is the City Committee ( Giunta Comunale ), composed by 12 assessors , that
3234-418: Is not uncommon between late November and early March; one of the snowiest months of the past decade was February 2012. Here are climate normals for the weather station of Bologna Borgo Panigale (at the airport), unaffected by the heat dome of the city, for both 1961–1990 and 1991–2020 periods, in order to highlight changes between the two periods ( snow averages are referred to the city of Bologna, since there
3332-619: Is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy . It is the seventh most populous city in Italy , with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 1,000,000 people. Bologna is most famous for being the home to the oldest university in continuous operation , the University of Bologna , established in AD ;1088. Originally Etruscan ,
3430-409: Is the capital of the eponymous metropolitan city and of Emilia-Romagna , one of the twenty regions of Italy. While the province of Bologna has a population of 1,007,644, making it the twelfth most populated province of Italy, Emilia-Romagna ranks as the sixth most populated region of Italy, with about 4.5 million inhabitants, more than 7% of the national total. The seat of the regional government
3528-427: Is the tenth-largest church in the world by volume, 132 metres long and 66 metres wide, while the vault reaches 45 metres inside and 51 metres in the facade. With its volume of 258,000 m , it is the largest (Gothic or otherwise) church built of bricks of the world. The Basilica of Saint Stephen and its sanctuary are among the oldest structures in Bologna, having been built starting from the 8th century, according to
3626-561: The Papal States . Papal rule was contested in the uprisings of 1831 . The insurrected provinces planned to unite as the Province Italiane Unite with Bologna as the capital. Pope Gregory XVI asked for Austrian help against the rebels. Metternich warned French king Louis Philippe I against intervention in Italian affairs, and in the spring of 1831, Austrian forces marched across the Italian peninsula, defeating
3724-457: The Peace of Constance in 1183. Subsequently, the town began to expand rapidly and became one of the main commercial trade centres of northern Italy thanks to a system of canals that allowed barges and ships to come and go. Believed to have been established in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered the world's oldest university in continuous operation . The university originated as
3822-501: The Second World War . In 1961, the Marzocchi brothers became convinced that it was necessary to diversify production. The growth of the two production sectors therefore led to the establishment of two distinct companies: Marzocchi Pompe S.r.l. and Marzocchi S.p.A. The first dealt with the design and production of hydraulic pumps , the second with motorcycle suspensions After 1965, the second generation of Marzocchi entered
3920-583: The Western Schism prevented the papacy from restoring its domination over Bologna, so it remained relatively independent for some decades as an oligarchic republic. In 1401, Giovanni I Bentivoglio took power in a coup with the support of Milan, but, having turned his back on them and allied with Florence, the Milanese marched on Bologna and had Giovanni killed the following year. In 1442, Hannibal I Bentivoglio , Giovanni's nephew, recovered Bologna from
4018-463: The "Gran Sport" in 1949, and the slant-parallelogram was an improvement of it that allowed the derailleur to maintain a more constant distance from the sprockets, resulting in easier shifting. The SunTour derailleur cost less than Campagnolo, Huret , Shimano, or Simplex and it performed especially well shifting under load, as when changing to a lower gear while pedaling up a steep incline. A contemporary Consumer Reports test reported that "SunTour
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4116-660: The 7th Brigade of the Gruppi d'Azione Patriottica against Fascist and Nazi occupation forces, did not succeed in triggering a general uprising, despite being one of the largest resistance-led urban conflicts in the European theatre. Resistance forces entered Bologna on the morning of 21 April 1945. By this time, the Germans had already largely left the city in the face of the Allied advance, spearheaded by Polish forces advancing from
4214-577: The Funiculo derailleur fitted to 1935 Schulz bicycles ). Although their system, called Five-Speed Click , worked well, it proved an idea ahead of its time and did not catch on with the riding public. Another design innovation was the first practical Japanese freehub — the Unit-Hub - which combined freewheel and hub in one component (unit hubs were available at least as early as the 1938 Bayliss-Wiley, probably earlier ). The freehub greatly increased
4312-543: The Milanese, only to be assassinated in a conspiracy plotted by Pope Eugene IV three years later. But the signoria of the Bentivoglio family was then firmly established, and the power passed to his cousin Sante Bentivoglio , who ruled until 1462, followed by Giovanni II . Giovanni II managed to resist the expansionist designs of Cesare Borgia for some time, but on 7 October 1506, Pope Julius II issued
4410-782: The Senate, which however had to swear fealty to the short-lived Cispadane Republic , created as a client state of the French First Republic at the congress of Reggio (27 December 1796 – 9 January 1797) but succeeded by the Cisalpine Republic on 9 July 1797, later by the Italian Republic and finally the Kingdom of Italy . After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 restored Bologna to
4508-521: The Via Emilia still runs straight through the city under the changing names of Strada Maggiore, Rizzoli, Ugo Bassi, and San Felice. Due to its Roman heritage, the central streets of Bologna, today largely pedestrianized, follow the grid pattern of the Roman settlement. The original Roman ramparts were supplanted by a high medieval system of fortifications, remains of which are still visible, and finally by
4606-572: The Visconti family, Bologna was recovered by the papacy in 1363 by Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz after a long negotiation involving a huge indemnity paid to Bernabò Visconti , Giovanni's heir, who died in 1354. In 1376, Bologna again revolted against Papal rule and joined Florence in the unsuccessful War of the Eight Saints . However, extreme infighting inside the Holy See after
4704-440: The administrative powers of a province, are conceived for improving the performance of local administrations and to slash local spending by better co-ordinating the municipalities in providing basic services (including transport, school and social programs) and environment protection. In this policy framework, the mayor of Bologna is designated to exercise the functions of a metropolitan mayor ( sindaco metropolitano ), presiding over
4802-652: The area in the 7th to 6th centuries, and the Etruscan city of Felsina was established at the site of Bologna by the end of the 6th century. By the 4th century BCE, the site was occupied by the Gaulish Boii , and it became a Roman colony and municipium with the name of Bonōnia in 196 BCE. During the waning years of the Western Roman Empire Bologna was repeatedly sacked by the Goths . It
4900-399: The attack, while Licio Gelli —Grand Master of the underground Freemason lodge Propaganda Due (P2)—was convicted for hampering the investigation, together with three agents of the secret military intelligence service SISMI (including Francesco Pazienza and Pietro Musumeci ). Commemorations take place in Bologna on 2 August each year, culminating in a concert in the main square. In 1999,
4998-592: The bicycle component business, selling off SunTour's Japanese facilities piecemeal and closing its U.S. offices in early 1995. SR Suntour re-established a US presence in 2011 as SR SUNTOUR North America Inc. In 2018 they reported experiencing 'Tremendous growth' and moved into a larger facility in Ridgefield , Washington . Until 2011 the company was manufacturing forks for Italian suspension company Marzocchi . In 2012, Junzo Kawai, former president of SunTour Japan, returned to bicycle component manufacturing with
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#17327912514535096-739: The church is commonly called, to the city centre. Its porticos provide shelter for the traditional procession which every year since 1433 has carried a Byzantine icon of the Madonna with Child attributed to Luke the Evangelist down to the Bologna Cathedral during the Feast of the Ascension . In 2021, the porticoes were named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . San Petronio Basilica , built between 1388 and 1479 (but still unfinished),
5194-423: The city as an industrial and railway hub connecting northern and central Italy made it a target for the Allied forces . On 24 July 1943, a massive aerial bombardment destroyed a significant part of the historic city centre and killed about 200 people. The main railway station and adjoining areas were severely hit, and 44% of the buildings in the centre were listed as having been destroyed or severely damaged. The city
5292-658: The city has been an important urban center for centuries, first under the Etruscans (who called it Felsina ), then under the Celts as Bona , later under the Romans ( Bonōnia ), then again in the Middle Ages , as a free municipality and later signoria , when it was among the largest European cities by population . Famous for its towers, churches and lengthy porticoes , Bologna has a well-preserved historical centre, thanks to
5390-487: The city mayor. The urban organization is governed by the Italian Constitution (art. 114). The boroughs have the power to advise the mayor with nonbinding opinions on a large spectrum of topics (environment, construction, public health, local markets) and exercise the functions delegated to them by the City Council; in addition, they are supplied with an autonomous founding to finance local activities. Bologna
5488-497: The city was administered under Anna Maria Cancellieri (as a state-appointed prefect ), Virginio Merola was elected as mayor, leading a left-wing coalition comprising the Democratic Party , Left Ecology Freedom and Italy of Values . In 2016 , Merola was confirmed mayor, defeating the conservative candidate, Lucia Borgonzoni . In 2021, after ten years of Merola's mayorship, one of his closest allies, Matteo Lepore ,
5586-411: The company concentrated on producing bicycle gearing components. In the 1950s, the company began producing its version of pull-chain, rod-guided, touring derailleurs , similar to those of French derailleur companies such as Huret and Simplex . In 1964, Suntour invented the slant-parallelogram rear derailleur. The parallelogram rear derailleur had gained prominence after Campagnolo 's introduction of
5684-504: The company gained a reputation with the general public as a producer of only low-end equipment. This reputation would eventually hurt sales when Suntour introduced a complete high-end component group, Superbe Pro . Despite emerging problems, Suntour continued to achieve a number of innovations, particularly in components for mountain bikes . In partnership with Sugino , it introduced the 110/74mm BCD five-bolt triple crankset for mountain bikes, which soon became an industry standard. Next
5782-529: The complex of St. Stephen. In the last quarter of the 8th century, Charlemagne , at the request of Pope Adrian I , invaded the Lombard Kingdom, causing its eventual demise. Occupied by Frankish troops in 774 on behalf of the papacy, Bologna remained under imperial authority and prospered as a frontier mark of the Carolingian empire . Bologna was the center of a revived study of law, including
5880-482: The domestic market and Chinese customers. Up until the 1980s, Marzocchi were original equipment manufacturers ('OEM') for a number of Italian motorcycle marques including Moto Morini and Ducati , their oil shock absorbers also being OEM for Triumph Motorcycles in the latter stages of their production at the Meriden plant. Their later 'Strada' model introduced a degree of air suspension to motorcycling and, like
5978-580: The east during the Battle of Bologna which had been fought since 9 April. First to arrive in the centre was the 87th Infantry Regiment of the Friuli Combat Group under general Arturo Scattini , who entered the centre from Porta Maggiore to the south. Since the soldiers were dressed in British outfits, they were initially thought to be part of the allied forces; when the local inhabitants heard
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#17327912514536076-468: The execution of his nephew Conradin in 1268, he was the last of the Hohenstaufen heirs. During the late 1200s, Bologna was affected by political instability when the most prominent families incessantly fought for the control of the town. The free commune was severely weakened by decades of infighting, allowing the pope to impose the rule of his envoy Cardinal Bertrand du Pouget in 1327. Du Pouget
6174-436: The first of whom was Giuseppe Dozza . At the end of the 1960s the city authorities, worried by massive gentrification and suburbanisation, asked Japanese starchitect Kenzo Tange to sketch a master plan for a new town north of Bologna; however, the project that came out in 1970 was evaluated as too ambitious and expensive. Eventually the city council, in spite of vetoing Tange's master plan, decided to keep his project for
6272-533: The global centres of trade shifted towards the Atlantic. The traditional silk industry was in a critical state. The university was losing students, who once came from all over Europe, because of the illiberal attitudes of the Church towards culture (especially after the trial of Galileo ). Bologna continued to suffer a progressive deindustrialisation also in the 18th century. In the mid-1700s, Pope Benedict XIV ,
6370-552: The highest point in the province is the peak of Corno alle Scale (in Lizzano in Belvedere ) at 1,945 metres (6,381 ft) above sea level. Bologna has a mid-latitude , four-season temperate climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfa ). Here are other classifications for the climate of this city: Annual precipitation is around 650–750 mm (25.5–29.5 in), with the majority generally falling in spring and autumn. Snow
6468-489: The innovative spring-loaded jockey wheel that was fitted with a seal that proved inadequate to keep out dirt and mud. In road bicycle components, the company fared no better. SunTour had introduced the SuperbeTech derailleur in 1983 with a streamlined, enclosed parallelogram. However, the design was too fragile, with internal pivots and the return spring failing frequently. It took special tools to repair and reassemble
6566-468: The largest freight hub in Italy by size and traffic. Since 2018, it has been repurposed as the Bologna San Donato railway test circuit . The city is also served by a large network of public bus lines, including trolleybus lines , operated since 2012 by Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia-Romagna (TPER). As of May 2023, the first line of the new Bologna tramway is under construction. Overall,
6664-589: The largest permanent trade fairs in Europe. According to recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index (E-REGI) of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city and the 47th European city in terms of its economic growth rate; in 2022, Il Sole 24 Ore named Bologna the best city in Italy for overall quality of life. Bologna intends to become carbon neutral by 2040 and raise female employment rates, focussing on sustainable and equitable urban development. The city
6762-422: The late 16th to early 17th century reduced the population of the city from some 72,000 in the mid-16th century to about 47,000 by 1630. During the 1629–1631 Italian plague alone, Bologna lost up to a third of its population. In the mid-17th century, the population stabilized at roughly 60,000, slowly increasing to some 70,000 by the mid-18th century. The economy of Bologna started to show signs of severe decline as
6860-617: The latter also featuring Renaissance artworks such as the Bentivoglio Altarpiece by Lorenzo Costa . Finally, the Church of San Michele in Bosco is a 15th century religious complex located on a hill not far from the city's historical center. In terms of total GDP, the Metropolitan City of Bologna generated a value of about €35 billion ($ 40.6 billion) in 2017, equivalent to €34,251 ($ 40,165) per capita,
6958-524: The long tradition of left-wing mayors was interrupted by the victory of independent centre-right candidate Giorgio Guazzaloca . However, Bologna reverted to form in 2004 when Sergio Cofferati , a former trade union leader, unseated Guazzaloca. The next centre-left mayor, Flavio Delbono , elected in June 2009, resigned in January 2010 after being involved in a corruption scandal. After a 15-month period in which
7056-520: The mountain bike suspension forks in Italy. Since December 2015 Marzocchi brand was taken over by the Italian company VRM Group together with the historic Zola Pedrosa plant with the birth of the subsidiary Marzocchi Motor and the reinstatement of 70 employees for production. Florenzo Vanzetto become the CEO of the company. American company Fox Factory acquired only assets of Marzocchi's mountain bike product lines. In recent years Marzocchi Motor has become
7154-425: The new Kingdom of Italy . In the last decades of the 19th century, Bologna once again thrived economically and socially. In 1863 Naples was linked to Rome by railway, and the following year Bologna to Florence. Bolognese moderate agrarian elites, that supported liberal insurgencies against the papacy and were admirers of the British political system and of free trade, envisioned a unified national state that would open
7252-536: The oil shocks, were available as aftermarket fittings for a large number of models. Strada units were OEM for Triumph's T140LE Royal Wedding and TSS models. A big advantage of the Marzocchi shock was its ability to be rebuilt, seal kits and service manuals being readily available. Meriden also experimented with using Marzocchi front forks which were also used on some Italian models. Meriden however closed down before any such forks reached production models. Marzocchi shocks, albeit of more modern design, are still OEM for
7350-538: The original SunTour parts. By 1993, SunTour's share of the market had dropped to five per cent of the U.S. market. At the end of 1994, Mori decided to shut down their bicycle component business. In March 1995 Daisuke Kobayashi and Hideo Hashizume, the former owners of Sakae Ringyo, arranged a management buyout. The new management took over in July, 1995, purchasing the SunTour name and the SR factory in Taiwan. Mori Industries left
7448-424: The other hand, desperately needed orders, so the company could not insist on complete SunTour component groups that had been tested to ensure compatibility with AccuShift . As a consequence, major bicycle manufacturers such as Schwinn and Raleigh installed Accu-Shift on low-end bikes using inventories of older freewheels, hubs, cables, cable housings, and chains from other manufacturers. The practice resulted in
7546-455: The population of Bologna grew by 0.0 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.56 percent. The current birth rate of Bologna is 8.07 births per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the Italian average of 9.45 births. SR Suntour SR Suntour (stylized as SR SUNTOUR ) is a Taiwanese manufacturer of bicycle components, formed in 1988 when Osaka based SunTour (Maeda) went bankrupt and was purchased by Sakae Ringyo Company (abbreviated S.R.),
7644-434: The province of Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, of whom 46.7% were male and 53.3% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 12.86 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 27.02 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Bologna resident is 51 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007,
7742-452: The rebellion by 26 April. By the mid-1840s, unemployment levels were very high and traditional industries continued to languish or disappear; Bologna became a city of economic disparity with the top 10 percent of the population living off rent, another 20 percent exercising professions or commerce and 70 percent working in low-paid, often insecure manual jobs. The Papal census of 1841 reported 10,000 permanent beggars and another 30,000 (out of
7840-473: The restoration of older ones. At this time, Bologna had ninety-six convents, more than any other Italian city. Painters working in Bologna during this period established the Bolognese School which includes Annibale Carracci , Domenichino , Guercino , and others of European fame. It was only towards the end of the 16th century that severe signs of decline began to manifest. A series of plagues in
7938-525: The scene. Adriano, son of Stefano and Paolo, son of Guglielmo. For Marzocchi Sospensioni, the products were aimed at the high-end of the market: motocross and large-engined bikes. The company decision to focus on sports with the aim of product development proved successful. Marzocchi champions have dominated motorcycle circuits throughout Europe. In the 80s the collaboration with manufacturers of large-engined road motorcycles such as BMW Motorrad , Moto Guzzi , Ducati expanded and Marzocchi established itself as
8036-583: The scholar Irnerius ( c. 1050 – after 1125) and his famous students, the Four Doctors of Bologna . After the death of Matilda of Tuscany in 1115, Bologna obtained substantial concessions from Emperor Henry V . However, when Frederick Barbarossa subsequently attempted to strike down the deal, Bologna joined the Lombard League , which then defeated the imperial armies at the Battle of Legnano and established an effective autonomy at
8134-503: The second half of the 18th century. In 1790, the city had 72,000 inhabitants, ranking as the second largest in the Papal States; however, this figure had remained unchanged for decades. During this period, Papal economic policies included heavy customs duties and concessions of monopolies to single manufacturers. Napoleon entered Bologna on 19 June 1796. Napoleon briefly reinstated the ancient mode of government, giving power to
8232-578: The soldiers were speaking Italian, they poured out onto the streets to celebrate. In the post-war years, Bologna became a thriving industrial centre as well as a political stronghold of the Italian Communist Party . Between 1945 and 1999, the city was helmed by an uninterrupted succession of mayors from the PCI and its successors, the Democratic Party of the Left and Democrats of the Left ,
8330-579: The strength of the rear wheel, but the idea was not pursued. In the early 1970s, demand created by the bike boom in the United States exceeded the capacity of European manufacturers. SunTour and Shimano filled the vacuum. SunTour focused on refining existing systems and designs for mid-level and high-end products. Like Shimano, SunTour initially did not sell complete group-sets , so it teamed with other parts makers, such as Sugino for cranksets and Dia-Compe for brakes , so it could sell
8428-670: The third highest figure among Italian provinces (after Milan and Bolzano/Bozen ). The economy of Bologna is characterized by a flourishing industrial sector, traditionally centered on the transformation of agricultural and zootechnical products ( Eridania , Granarolo , Segafredo Zanetti , Conserve Italia [ it ] ), machinery ( Coesia [ it ] , IMA , Sacmi ), construction equipment ( Maccaferri ); energy ( Hera Group ), automotive ( Ducati , Lamborghini ), footwear, textile, engineering, chemical, printing and publishing ( Cappelli , il Mulino , Monrif Group [ it ] , Zanichelli ). In particular, Bologna
8526-444: The town. The cityscape is further enriched by its elegant and extensive porticoes , for which the city is famous. In total, there are some 38 kilometres (24 miles) of porticoes in the city's historical centre (over 45 km (28 mi) in the city proper), which make it possible to walk for long distances sheltered from the elements. The Portico di San Luca is possibly the world's longest. It connects Porta Saragozza (one of
8624-428: The tradition on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Egyptian goddess Isis . The Basilica of Saint Dominic is an example of Romanic architecture from the 13th century, enriched by the monumental tombs of great Bolognese glossators Rolandino de'Passeggeri and Egidio Foscherari. Basilicas of St Francis , Santa Maria dei Servi and San Giacomo Maggiore are other magnificent examples of 14th century architecture,
8722-647: The twelve gates of the ancient walls built in the Middle Ages, which circled a 7.5 km (4.7 mi) part of the city) with the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca , a church begun in 1723 on the site of an 11th century edifice which had already been enlarged in the 14th century, prominently located on a hill (289 metres (948 feet)) overlooking the town, which is one of Bologna's main landmarks. The winding 666 vault arcades, almost four kilometres (3,796 m or 12,454 ft) long, effectively links San Luca , as
8820-706: The western edge of the Po Plain on the border with Ferrara to the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The centre of the town is 54 metres (177 ft) above sea level (while elevation within the municipality ranges from 29 metres (95 ft) in the suburb of Corticella to 300 metres (980 ft) in Sabbiuno and the Colle della Guardia). The province of Bologna stretches from the Po Plain into the Apennines;
8918-457: Was defeated and captured on 26 May 1249 at the Battle of Fossalta . Although the emperor demanded his release, Enzo was thenceforth kept a knightly prisoner in Bologna, in a palace that came to be named Palazzo Re Enzo after him. Every attempt to escape or to rescue him failed, and he died after more than 22 years in captivity. After the death of his half-brothers Conrad IV in 1254, Frederick of Antioch in 1256 and Manfred in 1266, as well as
9016-680: Was elected mayor with 61.9% of votes, becoming the most voted mayor of Bologna since the introduction of the direct elections in 1995. Bologna is situated on the edge of the Po Plain at the foot of the Apennine Mountains , at the meeting of the Reno and Savena river valleys. As Bologna's two main watercourses flow directly to the sea, the town lies outside of the drainage basin of the River Po . The province of Bologna stretches from
9114-468: Was eventually ousted by a popular rebellion and Bologna became a signoria under Taddeo Pepoli in 1334. By the arrival of the Black Death in 1348, Bologna had 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, reduced to just 20,000 to 25,000 after the plague. In 1350, Bologna was conquered by archbishop Giovanni Visconti , the new lord of Milan. But following a rebellion by the town's governor, a renegade member of
9212-464: Was far and away the easiest to shift and the most certain of arriving at the right sprocket." Suntour's slant-parallelogram, spring-loaded top pivot rear derailleur provided the best shifting on the market. When Suntour's rear derailleur patent expired, the design was promptly copied by Shimano . In 1969, SunTour was the first Japanese gear and shifter manufacturer to introduce indexed shifting on bicycles (indexed shifting appeared at least as early as
9310-472: Was heavily bombed again on 25 September. The raids, which this time were not confined to the city centre, left 2,481 people dead and 2,000 injured. By the end of the war, 43% of all buildings in Bologna had been destroyed or damaged. After the armistice of 1943 , the city became a key centre of the Italian resistance movement . On 7 November 1944, a pitched battle around Porta Lame , waged by partisans of
9408-697: Was not evident in the 1500s, which were marked by some major developments in Bologna. In 1530, Emperor Charles V was crowned in Bologna, the last of the Holy Roman Emperors to be crowned by the pope. In 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio , the main building of the university. The period of Papal rule saw also the construction of many churches and other religious establishments, and
9506-835: Was the introduction of the Micro Drive 94/56mm BCD five-bolt compact mountain bike crankset, which saved weight, increased ground clearance, and permitted lower gearing for hill-climbing. New, short-cage rear derailleurs were provided to go with the Micro Drive cassette-type cogsets. The new system was very popular, and Shimano adopted the compact drive concept two years later. SunTour's new thumb and trigger shifters made shifting more convenient when riding off-pavement. The company's decision to limit funding and staff for research and development caused running issues with new products. The first sign of trouble came with returns on SunTour's SR MounTech rear derailleur, caused by failures of
9604-477: Was undertaken, Bologna was one of the few remaining large walled cities in Europe; to this day and despite having suffered considerable bombing damage in 1944, Bologna's 142 hectares (350 acres) historic centre is Europe's second largest, containing an immense wealth of important medieval, renaissance, and baroque artistic monuments. Bologna developed along the Via Emilia as an Etruscan and later Roman colony;
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