It is celebrated for the Battle of Cannae, in which the Romans were defeated by Hannibal in 216 BC (see Punic Wars). There is a considerable controversy as to whether the battle took place on the right or the left bank of the river.
In later times the place became a municipium, and unimportant Roman remains still exist upon the hill known as Monte di Canne. in the middle ages it became a bishopric, but was destroyed in 1276.
This entry was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.