Municipality of Masi Torello

Masi Torello, also known as Màs Turèl, is a municipality with a rich and complex history. Located in a once marshy area on the edge of the ancient course of the Sandolo, its origins are shrouded in mystery, with the first documented mentions dating back to the 13th century. However, it is likely that the area was inhabited much earlier, perhaps even before the Christian era.

There are two theories on the origin of the name Masi Torello: the first, proposed by Frizzi and Tallandini, suggests that ‘Masi’ derives from ‘Manso’, an agrarian unit of measurement introduced by Bishop Mansi, and ‘Torello’ from the Torelli family, linked to the Salinguerra family. The second theory, by Pardi, associates ‘Masi’ with ‘Mansus’, meaning farm, and ‘Torello’ with ‘Torellus’, meaning ‘twisted rope’, indicating a centre of rope-makers.

Masi S. Giacomo takes its name from the church dedicated to St James, built in memory of Giacomo Torelli, son of Salinguerra II. Documents from 1218 and 1238 confirm the presence of the Torelli-Salinguerra family in the area.

In the 14th century, Masi Torello was linked to the Pieve di Contrapò, and S. Giacomo to Voghiera. The 1431 census recorded 285 inhabitants and vast arable land, a sign of the fertility of the territory, which attracted the interest of noble families from Ferrara, including the Ariosto family.

The first baptismal register of Masi Torello dates back to 1576, with the surnames Guerra and Rascazzi among the oldest unrecorded. After having been part of the ‘Commune of Trava’ under the Cisalpine Republic, Masi Torello retained its municipal autonomy in 1805, before becoming a hamlet of Portomaggiore in 1817.

After almost a century, on 1 August 1959, Masi Torello was elevated to municipal capital. Bill No. 3145, presented by Ferrara deputies Giorgio Tancredi and Natale Gorini, led to the autonomy of the municipality, which held its first administrative elections on 6 and 7 November 1960, electing Giorgio Franceschini as mayor.