Cento (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtʃɛnto] ⓘ; Northern Bolognese: Zèint; City Bolognese: Zänt; Centese: Zènt) is a town and comune in the province of Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

Cento's growth from its origin as a little fishing village in the marshes to an established farming town took place in the first few centuries in the second millennium.

The Bishop of Bologna and the Abbot of Nonantola established the Partecipanza Agraria, an institution in which land would perpetually be redistributed every twenty years among the male heirs of the families who constituted the initial core of the community in the 12th century.

[3] In 1502, Pope Alexander VI took it away from the dominion of the Bishop of Bologna and made it part of the dowry of his daughter Lucrezia Borgia, betrothed to Duke Alfonso I d'Este.

South-east of the city lies the small historic fortification of Pieve di Cento.