Forlì

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Francesco di simone ferrucci, monumento di barbara manfredi, 1466 68, 04, Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Forlì, san mercuriale, esterno, chiostro, Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Cupola, Oratorio di San Sebastiano (Forlì), Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Abbazia di San Mercuriale (78812), Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

About Forlì

Forlì grew from Forum Livii, a Roman market town on the Via Emilia, and it still feels like a crossroads of Romagna: a compact old centre of red-brick palaces and arcades between the Apennine foothills and the Adriatic plain. With about 117,000 people, it shares a province with Cesena and sits an easy train ride from Bologna, Ravenna and Rimini.

The city's story is full of strong characters. Caterina Sforza defended the Rocca di Ravaldino against Cesare Borgia at the turn of the sixteenth century, the painter Melozzo da Forlì gave the Renaissance some of its brightest angels, and the patriot Aurelio Saffi, whose statue stands in the main square, helped lead the Roman Republic of 1849. In the twentieth century Forlì gained a showcase of rationalist architecture, now studied as part of a European route on the architecture of totalitarian regimes.

Today visitors come for the Romanesque abbey of San Mercuriale and its soaring bell tower, blockbuster art exhibitions at the Musei San Domenico, a lively Piazza Saffi and, of course, piadina still warm from the griddle.

Best seasonApril to June and September to October

Ideal stay1-2 days

ArrivingTrains on the Bologna to Rimini line; Forlì airport and Bologna airport for flights

Why People Love Forlì: 12 Things to Discover

Landmarks 3

Piazza Aurelio Saffi

The vast central square of Forlì is named after Aurelio Saffi, the local patriot who served as a leader of the Roman Republic of 1...

Torre Civica di Forlì

The civic tower rising beside the Palazzo Comunale is a landmark of the old centre, with a clock that has marked the rhythm of cit...

Piazzale della Vittoria

At the end of Viale della Libertà, this broad roundabout is crowned by a tall column topped by a statue of Victory, the monument t...

Temples and Shrines 4

Abbey of San Mercuriale

Forlì's symbol is the Romanesque abbey of San Mercuriale on Piazza Saffi, whose brick bell tower, finished in the twelfth century,...

Forlì Cathedral

The Cathedral of Santa Croce is home to the chapel of the Madonna del Fuoco, a paper woodcut of the Virgin that, according to trad...

Basilica di San Pellegrino Laziosi

The church of Santa Maria dei Servi, better known as San Pellegrino, keeps the tomb of Saint Peregrine Laziosi, a Servite friar bo...

Oratorio di San Sebastiano

This small oratory from the late fifteenth century is one of the purest Renaissance buildings in Romagna, with a harmonious facade...

Museums 2

Musei San Domenico

The vast former Dominican convent of San Domenico has been restored as the city's main museum complex, hosting major art exhibitio...

Palazzo Romagnoli

This elegant palazzo houses the city's twentieth-century art collections, with a strong section devoted to the sculptor Adolfo Wil...

History 1

Rocca di Ravaldino

The squat, powerful Rocca di Ravaldino is the fortress where Caterina Sforza, the formidable ruler of Forlì and Imola, held out ag...

Parks 1

Parco Urbano Franco Agosto

Forlì's largest park spreads out close to the Montone river on the edge of the centre, with lawns, a lake, cycle paths, playground...

Food and Drink 1

Piadina Romagnola in Forlì

No visit to Forlì is complete without a piadina, the thin flatbread of Romagna cooked on a hot griddle and folded around fillings...

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Photo: Sailko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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