a castle in northern Italy, 18 km from the city of Reggio nell’Emilia. The castle was the scene of a famous incident that occurred during the investiture struggle: the meeting in January 1077 between Pope Gregory VII (a guest of Countess Matilda of Tuscany, the owner of the castle) and Henry IV, the excommunicated and deposed German emperor. According to some chronicles, Henry IV, dressed as a penitent sinner, stood for three days at the walls of the castle awaiting reception by the pope. The expression “to go to Canossa” came to mean a humiliating capitulation (although the “going” to Canossa of HenryIV was actually only a political maneuver).