Forlimpopoli: Map

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Basilica of San Rufillo.

Forlimpopoli is a town and comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena, northern Italy

. It is located on the Via Emilia between Cesena

and Forlì

History

The name of Forlimpopoli derives from the Roman Forum Popili, most likey connected to the consul Publius Popilius Laenas, who would found it in 132 BC. Its ares has been however inhabited since Palaeolithic times, as proved by recent archaeological discoveries. Later it was settled by the Umbri and the Gauls from the Pianura Padana. In the 1st century BC Forum Popili become a municipium, and flourished to its vicinity to the important port of Classis (for which it provided amphorae for wine transport), having also a strong agricultural production.

It started to decay from the 3rd century AD, and, as in the High Middle Age the area became marshy, its agricultural output crumbled down. In this period it was part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna and had its first Catholic bishop in the 5th century; over his sepulchre, outside the town, a Benedictine monastery was founded. In the 7th century Forlimpopoli was ravaged by the Lombard king Grimoald; in the following century it fell under Papal

rule. Later the city started to grow again with the foundation of another burgh, the Civitas Nova, and with the communal autonomy.

In the 13th century it became a fief of the Ordelaffi family from Forlì

. Their expansion was momentarily halted by the Papal reconquest by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz who, in 1361, ordered the destruction of Forlimpopoli due to its loyalty to the Ordelaffi. A chronicles of ten years later states that the town was no more in existence, the bishopric having been moved to Bertinoro

, and the cathedral having been replaced by a fortress, the current Rocca. A few years later Sinibaldo Ordelaffi, now in peaceful terms with the Popes, had the town rebuilt with the construction of a line of walls. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was a possession of several families, such as the Riario and Cesare Borgia. In 1535 it was given back to the Papal States, who assigned it in turn as a fief to the Zampeschi family, followed by the Savelli and the Cardinal Capponi. A direct Papal authority was restored after the Napoleonic Wars.

Castle of Forlimpopoli.

Main sights

An imposing and very well conserved castle from the 16th century lies in the centre of the town. It is housing the local government, the archeological museum, a theatre and the music school.

Outside the town is the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie di Fornò, one of the most notable circular plan churches in Italy (late 15th century). It houses two works by Agostino di Duccio. The basilica of San Rufillo was built in the 6th century but it is now a more recent reconstruction; it houses two canvasses by Luca Longhi and Francesco Menzocchi, and the tomb of Brunoro II Zempeschi, lord of Forlimpopoli.

The church of the Servi (mid-15th century) has a painting by Marco Palmezzano.

Culture

The "Scuola di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli" was founded by the commune of Forlimpopoli and is now carried by an association of teachers and students. The main focus of teaching is the traditional folk music of the region. The music school has a supra-regional importance. In cooperation with the academy Burg Fürsteneck