Canossa

Near Parma is Canossa, the site of an old fortified town, one day of considerable importance, but now decayed beyond hope.
Italian Highways and Byways from a Motor Car|Francis Miltoun
It was in the year 1080, three years after the events of Canossa, that the next step was taken by Gregory.
The Makers of Modern Rome|Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
At this period Bismarck made his famous declaration, "To Canossa we do not go!"
A History of Germany|Bayard Taylor
I had spent more than a month with her in the castle at Canossa, and there I learned to know her well and to love her.
The Vizier of the Two-Horned Alexander|Frank R. Stockton

Canossa lies almost due south of Reggio d'Emilia, upon the slopes of the Apennines.
Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Second Series|John Addington Symonds

British Dictionary definitions for Canossa

Canossa

/ (kəˈnɒsə, Italian kaˈnossa) /

noun

a ruined castle in N Italy, in Emilia near Reggio nell'Emilia: scene of the penance done by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV before Pope Gregory VII

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012