 The territory suffered the same fate as the town of Correggio, when in 1635, the principality was passed on to the Este family.With the end of the Este domination along with the reconstruction of the municipality, promoted by the governor Luigi Carlo Farini, Rio, which until that moment had been a "Villa" of the municipality of Correggio, became a municipality with a government decree dated 4th December 1859, with effect from 1st January 1860.The promoters of this autonomy were Cavalier Luigi Nicolini, the first mayor Don Giovanni Battista Branchetti, the lawyer Luigi Carbonieri, and the Minister of the Interior Farini, as well as the Este landowners Luigi Brunetti, Sante Santachiara, Tomaso Terrachii, Fortunato Galantini and Frumenzio Bernini.