Copparo

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Comune di Copparo
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province	Ferrara (FE)
Mayor	Maria Teresa Bertuzzi

Elevation	7 m
Area	404 km²
Population
- Total (as of December 31, 2001)	18.999
- Density	121/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	44°54′N 11°50′E
Gentilic	Copparesi
Dialing code	0532
Postal code	44034
Frazioni	Ambrogio, Barazzolo, Coccanile-Cesta, Fossalta, Gradizza, Sabbioncello San Pietro, Sabbioncello San Vittore, Saletta - Cà Matte, Sant'Apollinare, Tamara, Ponte San Pietro
Patron	St. Peter and St. Paul
- Day	29 June
Website: Comune di Copparo (in Italian)

Copparo is a town of Emilia Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Ferrara, located 50 kilometers northeast of the regional capital of Bologna and 17 kilometers east of the provincial capital of Ferrara, Copparo sits in the fertile Po River Delta (10 kilometers south of the river and 35 kilometers from the Adriatic coast). The territory of the municipality lies between 0 and 7 metres above sea level.

1 Demographics
2 History
3 Cuisine
4 Famous companies
5 External links

[edit] Demographics

Copparo has a population of 18.999 inhabitants (Copparesi) and a surface of 157,1 square kilometers thus showing a population density of 114,94 inhabitants per square kilometer.

[edit] History

The origins of Copparo date back to the early Middle Ages and are confirmed both by a formation prior to the year 1000 and by its belonging to the Church of Ferrara and Ravenna (955) under the name "Massa in Copario". From many historical documents it appears that Copparo was a rather large agricultural center within the territory of Ferrara. The 1431 census mentions it as the largest area sown with barley and wheat. Copparo was likewise mentioned in the Statuta Ferrariae dated 1287 under the name of "Coparius" (recalling the responsibility the citizens of Copparo had in digging the"de preta" channel). After the year 1251, the area fell under the title of the Dukes of Ferrara, the Estensi family. They used the area primarily for recreational purposes, developing one of their principle game preserves and hunting lodges, a turreted castle. It was destroyed during the war against Venice and rebuilt in 1540. It then became one of the most famous Estense Delights. Of the original structure and its five towers only a solitary one remains today, on the site of the current city hall.

[edit] Cuisine

Copparo's cuisine has both simple and sophisticated dishes, being a combination of the tastes of the Estense's noble cuisine and the farmers' traditional cuisine. It includes main courses such as "pasticcio di maccheroni" or the popular cappelletti and lasagne all made with fresh egg pasta. The ancient Ferrara bread, the renaissance “ciupèta", is widely available throughout the town, still prepared with the old recipe and protected as an European mark “IGP", with its unique and strange shape that recall in the same time the male and the female symbols.

Copparo main Square with monumental fountain.

[edit] Famous companies

There are 313 industrial firms employing 3.947 people that are the 55,19% of the total of the workers. There are 384 service firms employing 1.044 people that are the 14,60% of the total of the workers. There are also 385 firms employing 1.515 people that are the 21,18% of the total of the workers. There are also 104 administrative offices emplying 646 workers that are the 9,03% of the total of the workers.

The most important factory in the area is Berco Spa, a manufacturer of considerable size specialised in the production of tracked vehicle components,equipment for overhauling the undercarriages of earth moving machinery and manufacture of machine tools for the reconditioning of internal combustion engines. The Copparo plant,the headquarters, stands on a site of about five hundred thousand square meters and has about 2200 employees.