| Valdagno | |||
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| — Comune — | |||
| Comune di Valdagno | |||
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Valdagno
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Italy | ||
| Region | Veneto | ||
| Province | Vicenza (VI) | ||
| Frazioni | Campotamaso, Castelvecchio, Cerealto, Maglio di Sopra, Massignani, Novale, Piana, San Quirico | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Alberto Neri | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 50.20 km2 (19.4 sq mi) | ||
| Population (9 June 2008) | |||
| • Total | 29,454 | ||
| • Density | 586.7/km2 (1,519.6/sq mi) | ||
| Demonym | Valdagnesi | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Postal code | 36078, 36070, 36074 | ||
| Dialing code | 0445 | ||
| Patron saint | St. Clement | ||
| Saint day | November 23 | ||
| Website | Official website | ||
Valdagno is a town and comune in the province of Vicenza, Italy.
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Valdagno's town was founded in 861, the name deriving from the Latin amins, then amnius, meaning "river". It is first mentioned in a 1184 document when it was a fief given by the Vicenza bishop to the Trissino family.
Two castles where erected on two opposite hills, one being named the Valdagno castle and the other the Panisacco Castle. However the Vicenza comune started very soon to contend it to the Trissino family, who in turn joined forces with Scaligers to defend it.
In 1291, in the course of the war with Verona, Venice occupied Valdagno and kept it until 1340. In 1377 it was pillaged by Bernabò Visconti and in 1404 it went back to the Venetians. From 1434 to 1439 it was occupied by the Visconti family and then re-annexed to Venice by Gian Giorgio Trissino.
Between 1510 and 1514 it suffered repeated destructions by the armies of Maximilian I, during the War of the League of Cambrai. Starting from 1797, with the fall of the Republic of Venice, Valdagno fell under the French and Austrian rule. It was annexed to the newly created Kingdom of Italy in 1866.
Valdagno is the birthplace of Gaetano Marzotto, a pioneer of the textile industry and founder of the Marzotto, which allowed Valdagno to became an industrial centre.
The decline of the Marzotto industry in the 1980s and subsequent relocation of the firm to other areas ( China and Romania ), left high bouts of unemployment, that have contributed to a rise of crime in the area.
The town is a focal centre of the Fronte Veneto: a violent neo-fascist group which has found a large following in Valdagno. The group is responsible for numerous acts of violence against immigrants in Veneto, Trentino and Lombardy.
The town has a football team, A.C. Nuova Valdagno and is home to the rink hockey team Isello Hockey Valdagno.