Country Italy Elevation 65 m (213 ft) Dialing code 0523 Local time Thursday 7:54 AM Postal code 29010 Dialling code 0523 | Province / Metropolitan city Piacenza (PC) Time zone CET (UTC+1) Area 34.5 km² Province Province of Piacenza Region Emilia-Romagna | |
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Frazioni San Nicolò a Trebbia, Santimento, Centora Weather 11°C, Wind E at 8 km/h, 91% Humidity | ||
Rottofreno is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 160 kilometres (99 mi) northwest of Bologna and about 12 kilometres (7 mi) west of Piacenza.
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Map of 29010 Rottofreno Province of Piacenza, Italy
Rottofreno borders the following municipalities: Borgonovo Val Tidone, Calendasco, Chignolo Po, Gragnano Trebbiense, Monticelli Pavese, Piacenza, and Sarmato.
The main settlement of the comune is San Nicolò, which has more inhabitants than Rottofreno proper.
Name and history
According to a legend, the name (meaning "broken bit") derives from an event during the Carthaginian invasion of Italy (218–201 BC), when Hannibal allegedly broke here the bit of his horse. The event is also remembered in the city's coat of arms. In reality the name is from the Lombard roth ("glory") and fridu ("friendship", "safeness"). The village was in fact called Rottofredo during the Middle Ages.
On 12 August 1746 during the War of Austrian Succession, a battle was fought here between a French-Spanish army and an Austrian force. This event is known as the Battle of Rottofredo (or Rottofreddo).