CARPI, DIOCESE OF. - Episcopal see in the province of Modena. Originally a possession of Countess Matilda, it passed under the temporal authority of the Holy See (1115–1225) and then to Modena, and in 1319 was elevated to an independent principality as an appanage of the Pio family until 1519. Following the wars between Charles V and Francis I, Prince Alberto Pio, noted for his works against Erasmus, after the Battle of Pavia was deprived of his principality, which was invaded by imperial forces and entrusted by Charles V to Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. From that time onward, it remained in the possession of the Este family.
In 1779, at the request of Francis III, Duke of Modena, Pius VI elevated Carpi ecclesiastically to a bishopric directly dependent on the Roman curia since the time of Julius II, appointing Francesco Benincasa, a former Jesuit from Sassuolo (Reggio Emilia), who governed it until 1794. In 1855, it became part of the metropolitan jurisdiction of Modena. The cathedral, built during the reign of the Lombard king Astolfo, was entirely rebuilt and embellished by Alberto Pio in 1516. The diocese covers 869.75 km² and, as of 1948, has 95,000 inhabitants, 36 parishes, 83 diocesan priests, and 7 regular clergy.