ASOLA
Asola, first inhabited by the Celtic Cenomani and the Romans, after the fall of the Empire passed under the domination of the Lombards and the Carolingian Empire. During the consolidation of the Lordships, the city was under the influence of Brescia, but was able to carve out a space of action forming, with the nearby villages, a district called “quadra”. With slightly different borders, this district later obtained the detachment and the autonomy from the Diocese of Brescia, from which it was submitted. The city was long disputed by the Gonzaga -rulers of Mantua, the Visconti of Milan and Brescia. In 1440 Asola chose to submit to the Republic of Venice. La Serenissima was able to exploit its strategic border position and turned it into a fortress. The main church of Asola had been the cathedral of a bishopric seat until 1818.
With the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797 by the Italian Army of Napoleon, the city became part of the temporary government of Brescia, later merged into the Cisalpine Republic, then called the Italian Republic and finally the Kingdom of Italy. With the end of the Napoleonic domain, in 1814 it became part of the Regno Lombardo-Veneto, under the Habsburg Empire. Many men from Asola took part in the Risorgimento Wars and the town itself was the destination of historical figures such as Carlo Alberto, Umberto I and Giuseppe Garibaldi. After the Second War of Independence in 1859, Asola was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia that became the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The new State established schools of all levels as the kindergarten for children, wanted by Ferrante Aporti, and the high school, funded by Antonio Schiantarelli. It also gave a boost to productive activities. Recognized “noble walled city” in the Middle Ages, Asola regained the title of city in 1951 thanks to its monuments and its millenary history.
