B. owes its origin, which is said to be much more remote than that of Rome. to the Etruscans, by whom it was called Fekrina. It afterwards fell into the hands of the Boii, from whom it passed to the Romans, who made it a colony, under the name of Bononiii (1S9 n.c.). In 53 A.D., it was nearly destroyed by fire, but was restored by Claudius. After the fall of the Roman empire, it passed into the hands of the Longobards, from whom it was taken by the Franks. Charlemagne made it a free city, and its independ ence was confirmed by a charter from Henry V., in 1112, which also invested the citizens with the choice of their own judges, consuls, and magistrates. The feuds of the Guelph and Ghibeline factious led to the downfall of th3 republic, and the supremacy of the papal see, B. being made a delegation in 1513. In B. was 'taken by the French, and was constituted the chief town of the Cispadane republic; and afterwards, when the kingdom of Italy was established, capital of the department Del Reno. It reverted to the pope in 1815. After that time, B. made several efforts to throw off the authority of the pope. One, in-1831, was successful, but the papal authority was restored
in the following year. In 1848, the Austrians attempted to obtain possession of 13 , but were repulsed. In the following year, however, they succeeded in capturing the city after a siege of ten days. B. was then, like the rest of the Romagna, declared to be in a state of siege, and was made the head-quarters of the Austrian second Italian corps. From the commencement of the Italian campaign of 1859, the Bolognese gave an active sympathy to the national cause; and before the peace-neimtiations at Zurich had been brought to a close, they had intimated their intention of placing themselves under the rule of Victor Emmanuel, as a part of the new kingdom of Italy. Notwithstanding the menaces of the Vatican, they persisted in their resolve; and when the question of "annexation to Piedmont, or separate government," was submitted to the universal vote of the people, in Mar., 1860, the votes for annexation exceeded those for separate government ni the proportion of 1000 to 1.