Reggio Emilia in the context of A1 Motorway (Italy)

Matilda of Tuscany (Italian: Matilde di Toscana; Latin: Matilda or Mathilda; c. 1046 – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa (Italian: Matilde di Canossa [maˈtilde di kaˈnɔssa]), also referred to as la Gran Contessa ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was one of the most important governing figures of the Italian Middle Ages. She reigned in a time of constant battles, political intrigues, and excommunications by the Church.

She ruled as a feudal margravine and, as a relative of the imperial Salian dynasty, she brokered a settlement in the so-called Investiture Controversy. In this extensive conflict with the emerging reform Papacy over the relationship between spiritual (sacerdotium) and secular (regnum) power, Pope Gregory VII dismissed and excommunicated the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (then King of the Romans) in 1076. At the same time, Matilda came into possession of a substantial territory that included present-day Lombardy, Emilia, Romagna, and Tuscany. She made the Canossa Castle, in the Apennines south west of Reggio Emilia, the centre of her domains.

The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italian: Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1175, with a population of 20,000 students.

The medieval university disappeared by 1338 and was replaced by "three public lectureships" which did not award degrees and were suspended in the 1590s "for lack of money". The university was not reestablished in Modena until the 1680s and did not receive an imperial charter until 1685.

The national colours of Italy are green, white, and red, collectively known in Italian as il Tricolore (pronounced [il trikoˈloːre]; English: "the Tricolour"). The three Italian national colours appeared for the first time in Genoa on 21 August 1789 on the cockade of Italy shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolution, on 11 October 1796 they were used for the first time in Milan on a military banner, while on 7 January 1797 in Reggio Emilia they appeared for the first time on a flag.

In sport in Italy, it is instead common to use Savoy azure, a shade of blue that was adopted for the first time in 1910 on the uniforms of the Italy national football team and which owes its name to the fact that it is the color of House of Savoy, the ruling dynasty in Italy from 1861 to 1946. It became a national color with the unification of Italy (1861), and its use continued even after Italy became a republic (1946).

Leonello d'Este (also spelled Lionello; 21 September 1407 – 1 October 1450) was Marquess of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio Emilia from 1441 to 1450. Despite the presence of legitimate children, Leonello was favoured by his father as his successor. In addition, his virtuous qualities, high level of education, and popularity among the common people as well as his formal papal recognition ultimately made him the most suitable heir.

Leonello had little influence over the Italian political landscape and aristocracy in Ferrara. Contrary to other prior d’Este family leaders, such as Azzo VII, Niccolò III, and Isabella d’Este, who had a drive for power and control, Leonello is recognized principally for his sponsorship of the arts, literature, and culture. In 1441–1450, his learned courts and developing knowledge assisted him in transforming the city of Ferrara. Under the guidance of Guarino Veronese, his humanist teacher, and with the approval of the commune, Leonello began the reformation, particularly, the University of Ferrara.

The province of Reggio Emilia (Italian: provincia di Reggio nell'Emilia; Emilian: pruvînsa ed Rèz) is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune (municipality) in the province, is Reggio Emilia.

It has an area of around 2,292 square kilometres (885 sq mi) and, As of June 2023, has a population of 525,366. There are 42 comuni in the province. Rolo, the smallest comune in the province by area, is the comune farthest to the East. Ventasso is the comune farthest to the West. The border towns of the province are Ventasso, which is the smallest comune by population, to the south and Luzzara in the north. Luzzara is the second largest comune in Emilia-Romagna and has the highest number of foreign nationals in the region.

The flag of Italy (Italian: bandiera d'Italia, Italian: [banˈdjɛːra diˈtaːlja]), often referred to as the Tricolour (il Tricolore, Italian: [il trikoˈloːre]), is a flag featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white and red, with the green at the hoist side, as defined by Article 12 of the Constitution of the Italian Republic. The Italian law regulates its use and display, protecting its defence and providing for the crime of insulting it; it also prescribes its teaching in Italian schools together with other national symbols of Italy.

The Italian Flag Day named Tricolour Day was established by law n. 671 of 31 December 1996, and is held every year on 7 January. This celebration commemorates the first official adoption of the tricolour as a national flag by a sovereign Italian state, the Cispadane Republic, a Napoleonic sister republic of Revolutionary France, which took place in Reggio Emilia on 7 January 1797, on the basis of the events following the French Revolution (1789–1799) which, among its ideals, advocated national self-determination. The Italian national colours appeared for the first time in Genoa on a tricolour cockade on 21 August 1789, anticipating by seven years the first green, white and red Italian military war flag, which was adopted by the Lombard Legion in Milan on 11 October 1796.