Forlimpopoli
Encyclopedia
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Province of Forlì-Cesena
Province of Forlì-Cesena
The Province of Forlì-Cesena is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Forlì.It has an area of 2,377 km², and a total population of 371,318 . There are 30 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Forlì-Cesena...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is located on the Via Emilia between Cesena
Cesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
and Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
.
History
The name of Forlimpopoli derives from the RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Forum Popili, most likey connected to the consul Publius Popilius Laenas
Publius Popilius Laenas
Publius Popillius Laenas was consul in 132 BC, and builder of the Via Popilia.When consul he incurred the hatred of the democrats by his harsh measures as head of a special commission appointed to take measures against the accomplices of Tiberius Gracchus...
, who would found it in 132 BC
132 BC
Year 132 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laenas and Rupilius...
. Its ares has been however inhabited since Palaeolithic times, as proved by recent archaeological discoveries. Later it was settled by the Umbri
Umbri
The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is currently occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria....
and the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
from the Pianura Padana. In the 1st century BC Forum Popili become a municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
, 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
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
Exarchate of Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
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
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
king Grimoald
Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I was duke of Benevento and king of the Lombards .Born probably before 610 to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli and the Bavarian princess Ramhilde, daughter of Duke Garibald I of Bavaria, he succeeded his brother Radoald as duke of Benevento...
; in the following century it fell under Papal
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
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
Bertinoro
Bertinoro is a town and comune in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna . It is located on hill, Mount Cesubeo, in Romagna, a few kilometers from the Via Emilia.-History:...
, 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
Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
. 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
Savelli
thumb|300px|The Coat of Arms of the Savelli over a wall of the church of [[Santa Maria in Aracoeli]], [[Rome]].The Savelli were a rich and influential Roman aristocratic family who rose to prominence in the 13th century and became extinct in the main line with Giulio Savelli .The family, who held...
and the Cardinal Capponi. A direct Papal authority was restored after the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
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
Agostino di Duccio
Agostino di Duccio was an Italian early Renaissance sculptor.Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from a monastery in Florence and was banished from his native city as a result...
. 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
Luca Longhi
Luca Longhi was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period, born and active near Ravenna, where he mainly produced religious paintings and portraits....
and Francesco Menzocchi
Francesco Menzocchi
Francesco Menzocchi was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance and Mannerist period, belonging to the Forlì painting school and active mainly in Forlì and Pesaro....
, and the tomb of Brunoro II Zempeschi
Brunoro II Zempeschi
Brunoro II Zampeschi was as an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlimpopoli.He was born at Forlì, the son of Brunoro I Zampeschi. At a young age he married Battistina Savelli, a member of a baronal family of Rome. In 1552, after a series of adventures, he was arrested, and freed only when his...
, lord of Forlimpopoli.
The church of the Servi (mid-15th century) has a painting by Marco Palmezzano
Marco Palmezzano
Marco Palmezzano was an Italian painter and architect, belonging to the Forlì painting school, who painted in a style recalling earlier Northern Renaissance models, and was mostly active near Forlì.-Biography:...
.
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 FürsteneckBurg Fürsteneck
Burg Fürsteneck is a castle, situated in central Germany between Fulda and Bad Hersfeld. It belongs to the commune of Eiterfeld. The castle is at an altitude of 406 meters on a small plateau.-History:...
in Germany and the Eric Sahlström Institutet in Sweden it developed the "European Nyckelharpa Training".
Notable people
- Pellegrino ArtusiPellegrino ArtusiPellegrino Artusi is best known as the author of famous Italian cookbook "La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene" ....
, (1820–1911) author of one of the earliest cookery book - Andrea DoviziosoAndrea DoviziosoAndrea Dovizioso is a professional motorcycle road racer. He won the 125cc World Championship in 2004.-125cc:...
, Italian motorcyclist - Marco UccelliniMarco UccelliniMarco Uccellini was an Italian Baroque violinist and composer.-Life:Uccellini's life is poorly known. Born at Forlimpopoli, Forlì, he studied in the Assisi seminary...
, (1603 or 1610–1680) Baroque violinist and composer
External links
- Official website
- Scuola di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli
- http://www.turboweb.it/forum/ut__@barrepubblicaniforli Forum forlimpopoli