Galeata

Located in the upper Val Bidente, Galeata is built on a river terrace, in the center of a basin dominated by a mighty cliff. Human presence in the area dates back to prehistoric times, as evidenced by the finds kept in the Pianetto Civic Museum. In Roman times, the small town of Mevaniola was located near the present town, and some of its archaeological remains (such as the theater and part of the thermal building) can be visited today. At the end of the 5th century A.D. the settlement moved down the Mevaniola valley, near Galeata. In this period an important monastic centre was founded at the behest of the hermit Ellero, as well as a sumptuous private villa which, given its architectural complexity and the wealth of materials found during recent archaeological research, could have been the residence of the Gothic king Theodoric. San Ellero’s life recounts the “clash” between the saint and Theodoric and the following reconciliation between the two, as admirably depicted in the relief of San Ellero and Theodoric (formerly in the Abbey and now in the Civic Museum). In the Middle Ages, the town (“Burgus Galiate”) was part of the powerful Abbey of S. Ellero, then came under the influence of the Florentines, who kept it there for several centuries (only in 1923, at the behest of Mussolini, was Galeata united with the province of Forlì). Today its territory is characterised by the presence of a considerable archaeological (Mevaniola, Villa of Teoderico) and historical-artistic heritage (Abbey of S. Ellero, Church of S. Maria dei Miracoli, Castle of Pianetto). At the heart of this cultural heritage, in which it is possible to trace the historical development of Galeata and the Upper Bidente Valley, is the ‘Mons. Domenico Mambrini’ Civic Museum, founded at the beginning of the 20th century and rebuilt between 2001 and 2004 in the Convent of the Friars Minor of Pianetto.