Castel Maggiore is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

with 15,922 inhabitants in the province of Bologna

Province of Bologna

The Province of Bologna is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Bologna.-Geography:It has an area of 3,702 km², and a total population of 991,647 . There are 60 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Bologna...

 located at about 9 km northwards from the historic centre of the capital town, Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

. Its name means means "Major Oak"; particurarly "Castel" is the local dialect word that translates "Castagno" in Italian, which means "Oak". Some people may think "Castel" means "Castle", and often visitors ask for a castle in Castel Maggiore.

History

The first documents conveying the existence of the Comune, in ancient times called Castaniolo (little chestnut) date back to the 10th century. The legend narrates that the name comes from a big chestnut trunk that should have floated into the territory of the comune through the Canale Navile (a navigable drain canal).

Afterwards Castaniolo was marked by the nickname of Maggiore (Major) in order to distinguish it from a homonymous hamlet of the Bentivoglio

Bentivoglio (BO)

Bentivoglio is a comune in the Province of Bologna in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, located about 15 km northeast of Bologna...

 comune.

The name was changed into the one it still carries nowadays during Napoleon's era, in 1818, in which jurisdiction on today's hamlets has been recognised.

The town underwent heavy bomb attacks during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 because of the passage of the railroad linking Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 and Padua

Padua

Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...

.