Bassano At The Time Of Napoleon

This study aims to be a part of the social history of the modern era. It centers on the period between the 18th and the 19th centuries to point out how the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars defined a drastic change on European territories. On the discussions about the Napoleonic era, the studies about the effects of this era in the capitals or bigger cities were taken more into consideration, meanwhile the realities of the minor urban areas were neglected. However, there is a certain number of local settlements that still contain the traces of the Revolution and the Napoleonic era. Among these urban areas, we can count Bassano del Grappa, situated in the current Vicenza province in the region of Veneto in northern Italy, where this tranformation can be observed profoundly. The foundation of Bassano dates back to the late 9th century A.D. and it still is a multidimentional city with 40. 000 habitants today. Because of its position, the city is always in change as it was contested by many powers until the end of World War I. The city is located at the base of the Veneto plain, in the point where Brenta, one of the biggest rivers of northern Italy, emerging from the pre-Alpine mountains starts its path and passes through the Venetian plain by irrigating it thanks to numerous canals, and leads to the lagoon and disperses in the Gulf of Venice.

Keywords

History of Bassano del Grappa, Economic historia, Social History, War History, Local History, Italy, France, Napolion Buonapart