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carpi in northern italy
statue in park
Following on from our time in Asia and the Middle East, and after being far from home for such a long time, we felt it was time to live in Europe again, and specifically somewhere with a long history and, most importantly, a predisposition towards the arts. So the richly musical republic of Italy seemed a suitable destination for our 2008 travels.
Emilia-Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. It forms a rough triangle, bounded on the East by the Adriatic Sea, on the North by the Po river and on the South by the Apennine range; these two linear features, with the Via Aemilia, and the A1 highway and the railway that run close and parallel to it, give an unusually regular structure to the whole region except for the easternmost part. About an half of the region is constituted by Padan Plain, an extremely fertile alluvial plain crossed by the river Po. The rest of the territory is occupied by the hills and mountains of Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.
Carpi is a city of around 65,000 people in the province of Modena, in the region Emilia Romagna (northern Italy). The name "Carpi" is derived from carpinus betulus, a hornbeam tree particularly widespread in medieval times in the Po valley region. In Prehistoric times it was a settlement of the Villanovan Culture. The foundation by the Lombard king Aistulf of St. Mary's church in the castle (Castrum Carpi) in 752 was the first step in the current settlement of the city. From 1319 to 1525 it was ruled by the Pio family, after whom it was acquired by the Este, as part of the Duchy of Modena.
The city received a Silver Medal for Military Valour due to its participation to the resistance against the German occupation during World War II.
It is also well located in relation to Modena, Bologna, Verona, Mantova, Padova, Venice, Milan, Florence and Siena - all cities noted for their jazz musicians, venues and festivals. I've just got to make those all-important initial contacts. Just like being back in Mongolia, China, Oman and Dubai. Here we go again, the loneliness of the long-distance piano player!