e-borghi travel 8, Taste and villages: Vignola: nomen omen

Vignola, the charming hilly village set in the Modena area (Bologna is only 30 kilometres far) already has its mission in its own name that comes from Latin vineola meaning “piccola vigna” (tiny vineyard) because of its ancient cultivation of the grape that dates back to the Roma Age. But the history of Vignola is also about tiny parish churches, castles, monks if it’s true that the first fortress overlooking the Panaro river was wanted by Saint Anselm, the abbot of the nearby monastery of Nonantola around the year 800 to protect the surrounding territory. The urban surrounding area also tells about the fights between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, between the different dominions and feudal lords, the powerful Estensi family and the enlighted Contrari family from Ferrara: they wanted the restoration of the castle, the construction of new walls and the construction of what is still a jewel of Vignola, the Barozzi Palace that took its name from the architect who designed it, Jacopo Barozzi, also called, no need to mention it, The Vignola. Regarding other famous people from this village we must mention the historian Ludovico Antonio Muratori.