Historical notes

The territory of Castelvetro has been inhabited since ancient times. The charme of its rolling hills was preferred to the inhospitable and unhealthy plains in the north and to the treacherous mountains of the Apennines.

Immediately after the Neolithic revolution, about 6500-6000 years ago, the agricultural vocation of the area was clear. In this period men became sedentary and their hunting and gathering subsistence mode turned into a productive economy based on agriculture and livestock. Many ancient settlements testimony this peopling also in the following historic moments.

The most interesting evidences, however, relate to the Etruscans findings discovered in the mid nineteenth century in the necropolis of Galassina and Nosadella, now preserved in large part at the Archaeological Museum in Modena.

After the Etruscans followed Gaul, Ligurian and Roman domination. The presence of Romans from the second century BC is testified by the remains of villas, farms, furnaces and necropolis scattered throughout the territory surrounding the village, and by coins and toponyms. Castelvetro derives from the Latin "Castrum Vetus", then turned into Castro Vetere as stated in a document of 988 AC.

This place name tells us that Castelvetro was a Roman military encampment, a "Castrum", which orthogonal structure is still partly visible in the upper area of the village, the Castle.

With the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, for these territories began a period of serious crisis: the barbaric invasions.

In the fifth and sixth centuries, when hordes of barbarians repeatedly set fire to the area of Castelvetro, inhabitants were decimated and dispersed and the the name of the village was forgotten.

Only after a long time a new population settled down in Castelvetro.
Local historians believe that in the eighth century Castelvetro had a castle and, in the early ninth century, it was already a wide court of some importance.

In the early Middle Ages Castelvetro has often been the scene of wars and sieges, like in 1326 when Vesurzio Lando's militias, long rejected by the brave resistance of the people of Castelvetro, brought death and destruction inside the stormed castle.Since 1330 the area became a fief under Rangoni family and Castelvetro was its capital.

During the Renaissance, with the extension and strengthening of Rangoni family's domains, Castelvetro increased its importance.Tragic events characterized the early years of the sixteenth century. Earthquakes, in particular that of 1501, affected the whole territory of Modena and caused extensive damage and epidemics.

In the following centuries, until the end of the rule of the Marquis Rangoni which coincided with the French occupation of 1796, the center of Castelvetro acquired a diplomatic representation function and was considered a cheerful and pleasant place where famous guests such as Carlo Sigonio and, above all, Torquato Tasso (1564) were hosted.

In 1815, after the period of French domination in Italy, the Este family (lords of Modena and Reggio Emilia) which also headed the feud Rangoni, regained possession of their duchy aggregating Castelvetro and Vignola.

This situation remained unchanged until 1859 when, after the expulsion of the Este and a plebiscite, the lands that belonged to the House of Este were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy and Castelvetro recovered its municipal autonomy.