The town's name, for some historians, derives from the Latin word "brigantinum" (brigantino, a small ship used by pirates that, according to legend, shored on the banks of the River Po). A second theory attests its foundation to a tribe of Celtic origins, known as Brigantii, while a third school of thought gives it a Greek meaning: flowered swamp.
Municipality in the province of Rovigo, located on the left bank of the Po, in the western part of the Polesine region, the territory of Bergantino is on the border with Lombardy.
The discovery of the remains of prehistoric settlements evidence that the area was inhabited and the houses were built on stilts. It became a Gaul outpost and was colonized by the Romans in the II century B.C. When the Empire fell, the area found in the ecclesiastical power an important point of reference. The town, for several years, submitted the domain of Ferrara, contended by Verona and then destroyed by the Venetians in 1482. It became a French possession in the late XVIII century and after a short period of Austrian domain, the area shared with the rest of the Veneto region, the most recent history.
Attractions:
- the Church of San Giorgio, which was rebuilt during the XVII century on a the remains of a previous building, features a façade embellished with semi-parallel columns and tympanum. The building is flanked by a Bell Tower, which was built in the first half of the XVIII century by the architect Santini. It features a truncated pyramid shaped building with a square section decorated with wide bands which in the four corners, joined at right angles, divide the structure into three parts. The large belfry is topped by a small temple shaped roof. The church features a three nave plan and inside preserves a canvas painted by Costa il Vecchio and an altarpiece by Crespi;
- the Diani Castle, which features a XVI century watchtower, built on the ruins of an earlier fortress destroyed in the second half of the XV century by Venetian troops. Originally the structure was surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge. In the XIX century, Carlo Diani, purchased the property and transformed the building into a private residential palace;
- Palazzo Strozzi, an XVIII century hunting lodge, has submitted, over the following centuries, several renovations. Today the building features a fine portal and a portico. It houses the original Museum of the Giostra (Tournament) and of the Spettacolo Popolare, dedicated to traveling shows;
- the historic center.