Forlimpopoli

An important player in Italian cuisine. Wine routes and gastronomic itineraries, recipes collected with passion, patience and good humour. On the Romagna plain at the foot of the Apennine hills, at the point where the Via Emilia crosses the valley of the river Bidente, stands the medieval village of Forlimpopoli.

Defined as an Artusian town due it being the birth place of the famous literary and gourmet expert Pellegrino Artusi, considered the emblem of the identity of Italian cuisine.

Forlimpopoli boasts a past rich in art and history. Its origins are linked to the Roman consul Popilio Lenate, who founded the city in 132 BC giving it the name of Forum Popili. Due to its strategic position, the village developed and prospered for centuries, as evidenced by the collections of Roman mosaics and amphorae produced in the village furnaces, used for transporting wine and oil and collected today in the archeological museum halls.

It is land of Bishops (the first was the Athenian Ruffillo in the fifth century), a crossroads of lombard armies, noble lords, destruction and reconstruction carried out at the will of the popes and cardinals. The story tells that the mighty Cardinal Albornoz ordered its destruction in 1361, and immediately afterwards, he reconstructed the square bearing his name, it was later completed by Pino Ordelaffi and Caterina Sforza.

The fortress, whose profile still dominates the main square, was built on the ruins of the ancient cathedral: today's town hall and theatre named after Giuseppe Verdi, encloses the halls of the Tobia Aldini archaeological museum.

There is much splendour here, Renaissance treasures and Baroque wonders of churches, palaces and monuments. The fortress belonging to the powerful Ordelaffi family is the ideal starting point for an itinerary that embraces the rich artistic and cultural heritage of Forlimpopoli: from the basilica of San Rufillo (6th century, rebuilt in 1400) which is a treasure trove of artistic treasures and relics related to the the first bishop of the city.  The Servi church has a very tall eighteenth century tower. Inside there are six altars adorned with valuable paintings, including the Annunciazione painted by Marco Palmezzano.

The factories dating back to the nineteenth century and the other symbolic buildings are found along the roads along which, recently, monuments of the heroes of the Risorgimento have been  erected.

The cultural liveliness of Forlimpopoli is reflected in a rich calendar of events that unfold throughout the year: from the most famous Artusian Festival, dedicated to Pellegrino Artusi and home cooking, the rite of the “Segavecchia” welcomes the spring; The area also hosts the Renaissance Festival "A Dè int the Roca to Frampúl”.  The town hosts summer concerts (Buonanotte suonatori, Forlimpopoli Didjin’Oz) as well as games and performances that animate Sundays. Before Christmas there is the festival “Ciak…Si Mangia” dedicated to cinema and gastronomy