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At the end of the Roman
Empire the territory of Città di Claterna went through some very
important changes.
The urban centre was definitely abandoned; this fact caused an anomalous
situation in the region. While Claterna was deserted other nearby
locations were still populated centres of various relevance. In this
period the future territory of Ozzano lost its main settlement.
This is one of the reasons
why the beginning of the Middle Ages saw many changes in the territory.
The lessened population concentrated in few rural buildings that were
often built with perishable material such us mud and wood, and the daily
life tools became increasingly simpler and essential, mostly made of cheap
material. For example tableware and glassware gradually disappeared from
households to be replaced by coarse wares and vessels made of stone
imported from the Alps or even wood.
Only centuries after the end of the Roman Empire, Claterna’s territory
is mentioned again in written documents. But already in Carolinian Age
there are records about castles on the hills. There are no records of any
relevant building in the area where the present centre of Ozzano is
situated.
The fertile areas of the plain presented topography traces typical of
Ravenna’s area; two extensively grown main masses marked by the
aggregation of farming land. The population seemed to be concentrated on
the hills.
It was only at the beginning of the diffusion of fortresses both in the
plain and mostly on the hills and the mountains, that fortresses gradually
became a real shelter for the greatest part of the population during the X
and XII centuries.
Other built up areas as
Settefonti, S.Pietro and Castel de Britti were originally small fortified
centres naturally sheltered by the harshness of the territory or by fences.
In this period also the religious structures began to spread, specially
the Pievi (country churches) and monasteries. Some of those religious
buildings, such as Pastino and Monte Armato, became quite renowned in the
area of Bologna.
Pieve di Pastino and its annexed churches, chapels and other properties
and pertinence involved a very large area until the XIV century. Quite the
opposite happened in the nearby S.Stefano di Claterna of whom no written
records are reported until the end of the XIII century.
Innumerable small churches were scattered on the territory and inside
castles, as the Chapel of S.Maria, excavated by archaeologists underneath
the present chapel inside the castle of Settefonti.
During all this time the Via Emilia continued to represent an
indispensable mean of communication where religious building and rest
stations could be found. Such as the “ospitali” for travellers. The
vital importance of the Via Emilia was also due to the poor conditions of
many infrastructures. The Via Emilia and the bridges attracted people not
only to the plain but also to the mountain as was the case for the castles
and the monasteries on the road to Tuscany.
Beginning from the XIII
century, with the consolidation of the largest town the political scene,
the situation changed dramatically. The territory of Ozzano was gradually
supplanted by the new policy of Bologna, that at the end of the XII
century built a few Borghi Franchi – Tax-free villages and fortresses so
to efficiently control its territory. The line of fortified areas built at
the border with Imola’s territory enclosed our area with a belt of
centres protected by ditches and fences. Inside the fortified perimeter
were some farms, scattered among the fields or along the roads. Farmers
who lived and worked on the land of noble families or religious institutes
inhabited the farms. This trend began to prevail at the end of the XV
century, when the attention of the main investors turned to the land
developing a net of structures and substructures that remained in pristine
condition until a few decades ago. This production system was shaped
according to the necessities of the town and of the increased population.
It supplied the towns with meat and corn.
By the end of the Middle Ages the castles in the area were protected by
brick walls, gates and towers, there were also many rural buildings
scattered along the plain and on the hills.
At the end of the XVI century, during a period of stability imposed by the
Pope who had conquered the territory, castles became useless, expensive
and were eventually abandoned. The once busy fortresses that the Town the
town lords had built and developed according to the needs of their
governments, were often deserted. After many years of complete neglect
Danti depicted some of the abandoned castles in a famous book of drawings,
in a state of marked decay.
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