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48-567: Nowadays it corresponds with the province of Rovigo in the viewpoint of political geography . In the viewpoint of physical geography it is a strip of land about 100-km long and 18-km wide located between the lower courses of the Adige and the Po rivers, limited to the east by the Adriatic Sea and leaving the western limit undefined. The eastern portion of Polesine corresponds to the delta of

96-523: A cadet branch born out of wedlock, who continued to rule in the imperial duchies and carried on the family name. Ferrara, on the other hand, was annexed by force of arms in 1598 by Pope Clement VIII on grounds of the heir's illegitimacy and incorporated into the Papal States . During the 18th century, the unhappy marriage between the last male heir of the Este family, the future Duke Ercole III , and

144-473: A Holy Roman Emperor, Otto IV (1198–1218), dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg (1208–1806), later also dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg (1689-1803), styled the "Electors of Hanover" in 1705, and princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1269-1807). The House of Welf gave Great Britain and the United Kingdom the " Hanoverian monarchs " (1714–1901) as well as gave Russia an emperor Ivan VI . After the peace ending

192-575: A castle at Este , near Padua , and named himself after the location. He had three sons from two marriages, two of whom became the ancestors of the two branches of the family: The two surviving branches, with Duke Henry the Lion of Saxony and Bavaria on the German (Welf dynasty) side, concluded an agreement in 1154 which allocated the family's Italian possessions to the younger line, the Fulc-Este, who in

240-439: A long highway , connects Verona with Rovigo and crosses the western part of the province. A13 toll motorway, connecting Bologna with Padua , A31, connecting Badia Polesine and SS434 Transpolesana with Piovene Rocchette , and SS309 "Romea" State Road, connecting Venice with Ravenna , pass through the zone. The A13 motorway exits in the province of Rovigo are Occhiobello , Villamarzana -Rovigo sud and Rovigo , while

288-399: A total population of 244,625 inhabitants (2005). It is a plain whose elevation is from −2 to 15 metres (−7 to 49 ft). The northern border is set on the Adige river from Badia Polesine to the sea, except for the territory of Cavarzere (in the province of Venice ); the southern border is set on the Po river from Melara to the sea. The province includes the whole delta of

336-407: Is Rovigo (51,000 inhabitants), followed by Adria (20,000 people). Other important centres are Porto Viro , Lendinara , Porto Tolle , Badia Polesine , Occhiobello and Taglio di Po . Important agricultural centres are Arquà Polesine , Loreo , Polesella and Lusia . Polesine is a Venetian term from Medieval Latin pollicĭnum or policĭnum , meaning " swamp " or " wetland "; this

384-510: Is a province in the Veneto region of Italy . Its capital is the city of Rovigo . It borders on the north with the provinces of Verona , Padua and Venice , on the south with the province of Ferrara , on the west with the province of Mantua , and on the east with the Adriatic Sea . The province of Rovigo corresponds with or is full included into contemporary Polesine . It has an area of 1,789 square kilometres (691 sq mi) and

432-493: Is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf , included dukes of Bavaria and of Brunswick . This branch produced Britain's Hanoverian monarchs , as well as one Emperor of Russia ( Ivan VI ) and one Holy Roman Emperor ( Otto IV ). The original House of Este's younger branch, which

480-462: Is a square (the chief one of the town) dedicated to Phaeton, to commemorate the old legend and the oral tradition saying that Phaeton died in the tract of the river Po crossing Crespino. The Adige river flowed more to the north than nowadays and the main course of the Po river was more to the south (more or less it was the current Po of Volano channel). This means that in ancient times the area lying between

528-622: Is because this territory was a swamp when it was given the name. This happened after the disasters in the Venetian hydrography that followed the decline of the Roman Empire . Polesine's origins are connected with the myth of Phaeton , the young god who drowned with the Sun chariot in the river Eridano (the former name of the river Po). In Crespino , a small village in Polesine, there

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576-617: Is simply called the House of Este, included rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597), and of Modena (–1859) and Reggio (1288–1796). This branch's male line became extinct with the death of Ercole III in 1803. According to Edward Gibbon , the family originated from the Roman Attii family, which migrated from Rome to Este to defend Italy against the Ostrogoths . However, there is little evidence to support this hypothesis. The names of

624-639: Is the only other river that flows across the province. Many canals for drainage have been dug in the province of Rovigo because the Po and the Adige are the first and the third biggest rivers of Italy as for rate of flow and the land has a huge amount of water to deal with; the main canals are the Collettore Padano , the Ceresolo and the Valdentro . Other streams of historic importance are

672-737: The Adigetto (a former course of the Adige), the Poazzo (a former course of the Po) and the Fossa Polesella (a former waterway connecting the Canal Bianco with the Po). The climate is mild continental with high humidity , having sultry summers and foggy winters ; precipitation is normal, usually happens in spring and autumn . There are 50 comuni ( sg. : comune ) in

720-633: The Duchy of Ferrara , but Rovigo was not an administrative unit of the duchy, and there was more than one Podesteria for each side of the Po river. After the War of Ferrara in 1484 the Republic of Venice started ruling over the northern part of Polesine; the Venetians designated it a territorio whose capital was Rovigo, thus giving the area an administrative unity for the first time. This can be viewed as

768-665: The Napoleonic Wars reshaped Europe, ushering in the modern era , the Electorate of Hanover ( duchy of Brunswick and Lüneburg , held in personal union by the king of Great Britain, George III ) was dissolved by treaty. Its lands were enlarged and the state was promoted to a kingdom . The new kingdom existed from 1815 to 1866, but upon the accession of Queen Victoria (who could not inherit Hanover under Salic law ) in 1837, it passed to her uncle, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover , and thus ceased to be in personal union with

816-531: The dowry of his niece the Marchesella , Ferrara passed to Azzo VI d'Este In 1146, with the last of the Adelardi. In 1242 Azzo VII Novello was nominated podestà for his lifetime. The lordship of Ferrara was made hereditary by Obizzo II (d. 1293), who was proclaimed Lord of Ferrara in 1264, Lord of Modena in 1288, and Lord of Reggio in 1289. Ferrara was a papal fief and the Este family were given

864-644: The toponym Taglio di Po means exactly "cutting of Po" and refers to this event, that has been the last change in the main course of the river until today. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 all the lands to the north of the Po were included into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ; part of these lands, the western and central lands, were annexed to the Territory of Rovigo to establish the Province of Rovigo in

912-770: The wetlands of the delta of the Po. The province of Rovigo has some famous holiday villages , as Rosolina Mare, Rosa Pineta, and Albarella Island ( Isola di Albarella in Italian). The eastern portion of the province corresponds with the delta of River Po, a large area where the river subdivides into channels (each with its own name). The delta is also a protected area, because it's a national-legally recognized nature park. 45°4′N 11°47′E  /  45.067°N 11.783°E  / 45.067; 11.783 House of Este The House of Este ( UK : / ˈ ɛ s t i / EST -ee , US : / ˈ ɛ s t eɪ / EST -ay , Italian: [ˈɛste] )

960-569: The British Crown. The senior branch of the House of Welf continued to be ruled by the princes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, as undisputed until the death of the ruling duke of Brunswick Prince William VIII , in 1884. Prior to his death, his brother Charles II from Geneva, as exiled de jure ruler of the house, had declared the Prussian annexation of the crown and the earlier Hanoverian usurpation absolutely illegal acts of usurpation inside of

1008-781: The German House. At his death, his grandson continued internationally recognized appeals. Hanover formed the Guelph Party (or German Party) to continue political appeals against the Prussian and German annexations of the crown. All later generations of the Italian branch are descendants of Fulco d'Este. From 1171 on, his descendants were titled Margraves of Este. Obizzo I (d. 1193), the first margrave, battled against Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa . His nephew Azzo d'Este VI (1170–1212) became podestà of Mantua and Verona . As

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1056-663: The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia. The eastern lands were at first annexed to the Province of Venice; on 1851 the whole Po delta was detached from the Province of Venice and attached to the Province of Rovigo, thus giving the Polesine the extension it has nowadays. Due to the large amount of water passing through Polesine, many floods happened during the centuries. The main floods had been: Actual Polesine territory is, geologically speaking, of recent formation , created by drifts taken by rivers Po and Adige, and subsequently from human modifications. In fact, men reclaimed and decontaminated

1104-408: The Po and the border is set on the Po di Goro channel of the delta. The rivers Po and Adige have had a stable course only in recent times. The land is of relatively recent formation , created by drifts taken by the rivers, and subsidence occurs due to natural consolidation as well as to human activities such as drainage , groundwater extraction and methane extraction. The Canal Bianco

1152-540: The Po at Ficarolo and the new main course started flowing much closer to the Adige. The rulers of the whole area (except for the new delta of the Po) were the Este ; the area was formerly named County of Gavello , but two centuries after the disaster and due to the decline of the Abbey of Gavello it started being named County of Rovigo. In 1484, after the end of the War of Ferrara , the Republic of Venice took possession of

1200-549: The Po, and it is constantly expanding eastward because of the detritus sediment phenomenon. The Po and the Adige are the first and the third biggest rivers of Italy as for rate of flow , yet another river flows across Polesine between these two main rivers: the Canal Bianco ; this means that by far most of the fresh water of Italy flows into the sea through Polesine. Due to this large amount of water it has to deal with, it has many canals for drainage . The biggest city

1248-519: The area before embanking the biggest waterways. First origins goes up to the Pliocene epoch . Contemporary to the rising of Alps and Apennine Mountains , the entire Padania was filled by a long inlet (the Adriatic depression ) and the seabed of this huge ditch was full of troughs and elevations . At the end of the last glaciation (10.000 years ago), most of Padania actual territory

1296-625: The area north of the Tartaro-Canalbianco, named "Polesine of Rovigo" by the Este because of its characteristic of being an island between rivers; other lands outside the proper named "Polesine of Rovigo" were also annexed, including the areas of Adria , Polesella and Guarda Veneta . All these areas established the Territory of Polesine inside the Domini di Terraferma (Mainland State) of the Republic of Venice. The Este claimed again

1344-487: The course of time acquired Ferrara, Modena and Reggio. Este itself was taken over in 1275 by Padua , and in 1405 (together with Padua) by Venice . The elder branch of the original House of Este, known as the House of Welf (were also called Guelfs "Guelf" or "Guelph" which derives from the Italianized name for original “Welf”), produced dukes of Bavaria (1070–1139, 1156–1180), dukes of Saxony (1138–1139, 1142–1180),

1392-704: The duchy of Ferrara as papal fief from Pope Paul II , for which occasion splendid frescoes were executed at Palazzo Schifanoia . Borso was succeeded by a half-brother, Ercole (1431–1505), who was one of the most significant patrons of the arts in late 15th and early 16th century Italy. Ferrara grew into a cultural center renowned especially for music; Josquin des Prez worked for Duke Ercole, Jacob Obrecht came to Ferrara twice, and Antoine Brumel served as principal musician from 1505. Ercole's daughter Beatrice (1475–1497) married Ludovico Sforza , Duke of Milan ; another daughter, Isabella (1474–1539), married Francesco Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua . Ercole I's successor

1440-462: The early members of the family indicate that a Frankish origin is much more likely. The Encyclopædia Britannica regards this family as a branch of the Obertenghi . The first known member of the house was Margrave Adalbert of Mainz , known only as the father of Oberto I , Count palatine of Italy , who died around 975. Oberto's grandson, Albert Azzo II, Margrave of Milan (996–1097) built

1488-525: The enlarged and elevated Grand Duchy of Baden during the Napoleonic reorganization of the western territories of the defunct Holy Roman Empire . In December of that same year, Ferdinand died without ever having had the opportunity to exercise his prerogatives as heir to the Este States. Maria Beatrice had succeeded her mother as Duchess of Massa and Carrara in 1790, but she too had been deposed by

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1536-484: The former was designated by Francesco III as heir for the imperial investiture as Duke of Modena and Reggio in the event of extinction of the Este male line. In the meantime, Francesco would cover the office of governor of Milan ad interim, which was destined for the archduke. In 1761, however, following the death of an older brother , Leopold became heir to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as provided for

1584-403: The hydrography of the whole Veneto, traditionally referred to as the breach at Cucca in 589, Adria and its port lost their significance. In the meantime Rovigo was founded and fortified later in the 10th century, and provided of a city wall in the 12th century; it became the new centre of the area. In 1152, another disaster changed the hydrography of Polesine: a breach opened in the banks of

1632-748: The new House of Austria-Este . Ercole III finally ascended the throne in 1780 upon the death of Francesco III, but was deposed in 1796 by the French. His States were transformed into the Cispadane Republic , which one year later was merged into the Cisalpine Republic and then into the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy . Ercole was compensated with the small principality of Breisgau in southwestern Germany, and when he died in 1803, it passed to his son-in-law, who in 1806 lost it to

1680-566: The only A31 exits in the province are Badia Polesine and the final junction with SS434. The territory of the province was first colonized by the Greeks , who founded the colony of Adria in the 12th-11th centuries BC. During the 6th and 5th centuries BC Etruscans and Venetians inhabited the area, followed by the Romans. In the Middle Ages the region was ruled by the Este as part of

1728-644: The position of hereditary papal vicars in 1332. Ferrara became a significant center of culture under Niccolò d'Este III (1384–1441), who received several popes with great magnificence, especially Eugene IV. He held a Council in Ferrara in 1438, later known as the Council of Florence . His successors were his illegitimate sons Leonello (1407–1450) and Borso (1413–1471), who was elevated to Duke of Modena and Reggio by Emperor Frederick III in 1452, receiving these duchies as imperial fiefs. In 1471, he received

1776-454: The possession of the whole Polesine during the war of the League of Cambrai , but after a short occupation in 1508-1511 the frontiers were back to those of 1484. Between 1602 and 1604, an agreement between the Republic of Venice and the Papal States that then ruled over the southern part of the Po delta allowed the digging of a new final course for the Po known as the "cutting of Porto Viro";

1824-521: The princely couple would not produce a large offspring, the reigning Duke, Francesco III , set out to prevent Modena from suffering the same fate as Ferrara almost two centuries earlier. Thus, in 1753, two simultaneous treaties (one public and one secret) were concluded between the House of Este and the House of Austria , by which the Archduke Leopold , Empress Maria Theresa 's ninth-born child and third son, and Maria Beatrice were engaged, and

1872-553: The province its modern extent. The province is characterized by a thriving agriculture , particularly the cultivation of wheat , maize , rice and sugar beets as well as grapevines , apples , pears , peaches , tomatoes and vegetables . There are small to medium size factories set in the city of Rovigo and few other centres of the province: they mainly are about food processing (many are sugar refineries ), metalworking , carpentry , textile , construction and construction materials. Many Aquaculture farms are set in

1920-415: The province. As of 2011, the main comuni (municipalities) by population are: The province of Rovigo suffers the emigration phenomenon even nowadays: young people still use to emigrate to more developed areas of Veneto and of Italy; this leads to population ageing . There are still migrations from rural areas to more developed towns within the boundaries of the province. The SS434 "Transpolesana",

1968-694: The second male heir of the imperial couple, and the treaties had to be revised. In 1763, in spite of the harsh opposition of Maria Beatrice's father, the two families agreed to simply replace the name of Leopold with that of Maria Theresa's fourteenth child, Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria , who was four years younger than his betrothed. In January 1771 the Perpetual Diet of Regensburg ratified Ferdinand's future investiture and, in October, Maria Beatrice and he finally got married in Milan, thus giving rise to

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2016-564: The sister of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (1527–1576). His third wife, Margherita Gonzaga , was daughter of the duke of Mantua . Alfonso II raised the glory of Ferrara to its highest point, continuing the patron of Torquato Tasso and Giovanni Battista Guarini and in general favoring the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done. The legitimate line ended in 1597 with him; as his heir, Emperor Rudolph II recognized his first cousin Cesare d'Este (1533–1628), member of

2064-633: The sovereign Duchess of Massa and Carrara , Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina , produced only one surviving child, Maria Beatrice . However, the Salic law excluded her, as a woman, from the succession to her father, while she was entitled to succeed her mother since the Salic law was derogated in the Duchy of Massa and Carrara by virtue of a 1529 decree of the Emperor Charles V . When it became obvious that

2112-488: The start of the province of Rovigo, though its extent was a less than today; the borders were set as the Canal Bianco river with few exceptions: the territories of Polesella , Guarda Veneta , Adria and the delta of the Po were included in the Venetian territorio of Rovigo. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 all the territories to the north of the Po were included into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia , thus giving

2160-460: The two rivers was much larger than the current area named Polesine. The Greeks founded Adria in the 12th -11th century BC on a former channel of the Po (nowadays it is the lower course of the Canal Bianco river); the channel was given the name Adria and the sea was given the name Adriatic after the colony name. The channel Adria was then recognized to be the lower course of the Mincio river, that

2208-579: Was flowing into the Adriatic sea in ancient times. Etruscans and Venetians inhabited the area during the 6th and 5th centuries BC, then it was conquered by the Romans. Etruscans and Romans decontaminated the area by digging canals for drainage. Some historians think that the battle of the Raudine Plain of 101 BC could have been fought in this area. After the fall of Rome and the disasters in

2256-434: Was his son Alfonso I (1476–1534), third husband of Lucrezia Borgia , daughter of Pope Alexander VI , sister to Cesare Borgia . Alfonso I was a patron of Ariosto . The son of Alfonso and Lucrezia Borgia , Ercole d'Este II (1508–1559), married Renée of France , daughter of Louis XII of France . His son Alfonso II first married Lucrezia, daughter of grand-duke Cosimo I of Tuscany . After she died, he married Barbara,

2304-460: Was just formed. Landscape 's last mutation was due to the raising of the sea level and the ice melting . In 1604, river Po's natural course was artificially modified and after this work actual delta was formed. Floods frequently happened in Polesine filled the depressions of the area with several bundles of sediments consisting in sand , clay and silt . Province of Rovigo The province of Rovigo ( Italian : provincia di Rovigo )

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