The town was built along the Via Emilia (SS9) between Forlì and Cesena, where the road meets the Bidente Valley (Ronco). From Roman foundations, it developed around the fortress destroyed and then rebuilt by Cardinal Albornoz, papal legate, in the 14th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Forlimpopoli was owned by various lords, before it was granted to the Zampeschi family by the Pope. Forlimpopoli was the birthplace of the father of Italian gastronomy, Pellegrino Artusi, in the 19th century.
Forlimpopoli belongs to the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is situated in the Romagna plain, at the foot of the Apennine hills and about 25 km from the Adriatic Sea.
Forlimpopoli, a town rich in history, was founded in 132 B.C. by the Roman consul Popilius Lenate under the name of Forum Popili. It became part of the exarchate of Ravenna and had its first bishop in the 5th century, the Athenian Rufillus, on whose tomb a Benedictine abbey was built just outside the town. In the 7th century it was devastated by the army of the Lombard king Grimoaldo and in the following century it came under the rule of the Church.
In the 13th century, the city passed into the hands of the Ordelaffi da Forlì family, but was recaptured by the Church with Cardinal Albornoz, who ordered its destruction in 1361 and then had the fortress rebuilt on the site of the cathedral, with four circular towers and a patrol road. Its basement now houses the Civic Archaeological Museum, with magnificent mosaics, bronze and glass artifacts, and finds of wine amphorae from the Roman Imperial period. In the 15th and 16th centuries Forlimpopoli was owned by various lords, including Caterina Sforza and Cesare Borgia. In 1535 the town was granted by the Pope as a perpetual fief to Antonello Zampeschi, then to his heirs, the Savelli princes, and finally to Cardinal Capponi.
After the Napoleonic interlude, Forlimpopoli returned to papal rule. During the Risorgimento the town took an active part in the liberal uprisings, while in 1851 it entered the chronicles for the raids of the bandit Stefano Pelloni, known as “Il Passatore”, who plundered the town with his gang. The event shook Pellegrino Artusi, then a child, who for his work “Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well” is now considered the father of Italian gastronomy. In his honor, every year Forlimpopoli celebrates the Artusiana Festival, an artistic and culinary event of international level.
Places to visit: the Albornoz Fortress, the Archaeological Museum, the Basilica of San Rufillo.
Nearby: the Sanctuary of Fornò and the Selbagnone natural park.
How to get there:
Forlimpopoli can be reached by car along the Via Emilia or by train on the Bologna-Ancona line (Forlimpopoli-Bertinoro station). From the A14 motorway, take the Forlì tollbooth (for those coming from the north) or the Cesena Nord tollbooth (for those coming from the south). On the E45, the highway that connects Ravenna to Rome, the most indicated exit is Cesena ovest.
From the Forlì railway station you can reach Forlimpopoli by taking bus no. 92 from Puntobus in Forlì – Via Volta 1.
The municipality is bordered to the north and west by the municipality of Forlì and to the south and east by the municipality of Bertinoro; it also includes the hamlets of Selbagnone, Sant’Andrea, San Pietro ai Prati and part of the hamlet of San Leonardo.
This itinerary aims to point tourists to the culinary offerings of our land, with a culinary tradition famous throughout Italy.
Romagna, is in fact endowed with very fertile soils from which excellent natural products are obtained that can be enjoyed as soon as they are picked or prepared within sophisticated recipes to be served on the table.
It starts with the best-known and most popular events held in all the towns in the area. In Romagna, in fact, in every season of the year, it is possible to take part in countless festivals.
Monuments, churches, villas, palaces and relevant places
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