Predappio Alta Medieval Village

The medieval village consists of a group of houses, the square (now Piazza Cavour), a church, a fortress, an ancient gate and an old wine cellar located under the square.

Three kilometers upstream from Predappio, on a rocky spur, stands Predappio Alta. This small medieval village owes its name to a royal decree of 1936, which sought to distinguish it from the new town that was growing in the valley.

The history of Predappio and its castle, with the beginning of the feudal struggles, was identified with that of Forlì and the Church State, and was linked to the Guelph and Ghibelline factions of the Calboli and Ordelaffi families of Forlì. Donated to the Republic of Florence by Francesco de Calboli in 1382, it passed again to the Ordelaffi and later to the Holy See, which held it until the French invasion. After the Napoleonic rule, the territory returned to the Papal State until the unification of Italy.

The original medieval gate, called La Portaccia, was and still is the entrance to the fortified village. The sacred image on its front is a reproduction of an ancient painting placed here at the behest of the Zoli family.