Town Hall

Around the year one thousand, the original nucleus of the palace consisted of a fort, an appendage of the tower on the bank of the river Acquaviva (Rabbi), to control the main road. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the Gabella offices, a secretariat, a guardhouse and a room for salt. After the expansion of the village towards the Abbot, the Pallatium Communis was superimposed on the original nucleus, repeatedly mentioned in the Statute of the City of Forlì in 1359. In fact, in 1560 Cardinal Gil Carrillo de Albornoz removed Francesco Ordelaffi, he settled in Forlì and rebuilt the Palace with a chancellery, services and stalls on the ground floor, residence and board room on the main floor. After the short period of the Albornoz, the Ordelaffes returned and in 1412 they left their old houses near Santa Croce to move there. In 1459, under the Lordship of Cecco III and Pino III Ordelaffi, the southern body was enlarged and the façade of the Town Hall was extended over the opposite Ravaldino canal, covered with the sidewalk of the portico which led to the Ponte del Bread. In 1504, with the domination of the Papal State, the Palace became the seat of the Magistracy, maintaining the vocation for the administration of public functions. In 1654 the Palace and the portico were enlarged towards the Cantone del Gallo. From 1757 to 1765, on behalf of the municipal authorities, Antonio Galli Bibiena designed and built the main staircase and the hall of representation, the hall of the municipal council, or Sala dei Fasti. On the walls there are six frescoes by the same author, but made mostly by his pupils, in particular by the Giuseppe Forliese Giuseppe Marchetti. The Palace is currently the Town Hall.