FORLI' - CODE: TEDFRL
La terra che fé già la lunga prova
e di Franceschi sanguinoso mucchio,
sotto le branche verdi si ritrova…
(if., canto XXVII)
Located on the Po Valley along the Via Emilia, the city was founded by the Romans in the 2nd Century BC, with the name Forum Livii, as a trade junction at the intersection of the consular road with the road that led to Tuscany. Like other Romagna cities, Forlì then underwent barbarian domination by the Visigoths, Byzantines, Lombards and Franks. Around the year 1000 it became a Republic with a Ghibelline slant. Once the House of Hohenstaufen had fallen, Guido da Montefeltro became "Captain of the People" in Forlì. When the Ordelaffi appeared, who ruled the city for about two centuries, they ensured that the city was embellished with noble palaces and fortified with the expansion of the Rocca, the fortress. In 1480, Forlì was given to the Signoria of Girolamo Riario and Caterina Sforza (today, the Rocca di Ravaldino is named after her); once Caterina was defeated by Cesare Borgia in 1500, the Papal States dominated Forlì for three centuries.
Fascism, during the 20s and 30s, left an important mark on the city: just stand in Piazzale della Vittoria and turn your gaze toward the Station. What you'll see, in perfect Rationalist style, is a significant collection of buildings designed and built by the regime. Forlì is also a Pellegrino Artusi city, a figure tied to the nearby Forlimpopoli, a writer and gourmet of merit, who, in his book La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene (1891) (The Science of Cooking and the Art of Fine dining), immortalised the recipes of traditional Romagna specialities, offering intense and hearty flavours.
Forlì and Dante:
During his exile, Dante was a guest at many courts and families in Romagna. In 1302 he was a guest of the Ordelaffi, the Ghibelline lords of Forlì. Firstly, the poet, as captain of the army of exiles, together with Scarpetta Ordelaffi organize an attempt to return to Florence. But the endeavour was ill-fated: the Mayor of Florence, another native of Forlì (enemy of the Ordelaffi), Fulcieri di Calboli, managed to win the battle of Castel Puliciano. Dante returned to Forlì in 1308, 1310-1311 and, perhaps, in 1316. The poet mentions Forlì and its surrounding areas many times in his opus: as in Canto XXVII of the Inferno, where he remembers the resistance of Forlì to the siege of the French army sent in 1282 by Pope Martin IV to subdue the Ghibelline city.
Monuments:
In Forlì's historical centre, you can easily recognise the two main axes of Roman origin, divided into four main streets (Mazzini, Garibaldi, Diaz and della Repubblica) that converge in Piazza Saffi. On this square, you'll find those monuments that are most representative of the city's various eras: the Romanesque Basilica of San Mercuriale and the imposing original bell tower dating from the 12th century; the Palazzo Comunale, dating from the 14th century and remodelled many times with the Torre dell'Orologio, the clock tower; the 15th century Palazzo del Podestà and Palazzo Albertini, home to many interesting exhibitions, and the Palazzo delle Poste, an example of 20th century architecture.
Must-sees:
the Duomo, the Church of Carmine, the church of Sant'Antonio Vecchio, the Oratory of San Sebastiano, the City Art Gallery which has preserved Canova's Hebe, the new Museums of San Domenico and the Sforza Fortress by Ravaldino.
