Galeata () is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Forlì-Cesena The Province of Forlì-Cesena () is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capitals are the cities of Forlì and Cesena. The province has a population of 394,273 as of 2016 over an area of . It contains 30 '' comuni'' (: ''comu ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

, located about southeast of

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

and about southwest of

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

. Galeata borders the following municipalities:

Civitella di Romagna Civitella di Romagna () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about southwest of Forlì. Civitella di Romagna borders the following municipali ...

Predappio Predappio ( , ; or ) is a (municipality) in the province of Forlì-Cesena, in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, with a population of 6,135 as of 1 January 2021. The town is best known for being the birthplace of Benito Mussolini, founder of ...

, Premilcuore, Rocca San Casciano, Santa Sofia.

History

Galeata's origins are connected to the old

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...

an town of ''Mevaniola'', captured by the Romans in 266 BC. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, the settlement was moved to the modern Galeata. The latter's fortunes in the Middle Ages stemmed from the creation of the powerful Abbey of Sant'Ellero ( Hilary of Galeata), which administrated for centuries the nearby territories, with an army and fortresses of its own. In the early 15th century, Galeata became part of the Florentine possessions, belonging to the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

until 1860. It was part of the

Province of Florence The province of Florence () was a Provinces of Italy, province in the northeast of Tuscany region of Italy. The city or ''comune'' of Florence was both the capital of the province of Florence, and of the Region of Tuscany. It had an area of and ...

until 1923, when it was moved to the province of Forlì.

Main sights

*''Palazzo del Podestà'' (1636). It has a tower preceded by an ancient marble column sporting a Byzantine cross in the same material. *The Romanesque abbey of ''Sant'Ellero'', located 3 km outside the town. Nearby is another column celebrating a legendary meeting between St. Hilary and

Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal, was king of the Ostrogoths (475–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy between 493 and 526, regent of the Visigoths (511–526 ...

. The construction bean in 497 AD, but the current structure dates mostly from the 9th-10th centuries. Notable is the portal with capitals showing figures of sirens (symbolizing temptation and sin) and two riding monks with swords (symbolizing prayer and the church's struggle for Christianity). The façade has inside slabs of Byzantine origin. The interior, apart the presbytery, was mostly renewed in Baroque style in the 17th century. The

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

is supposed to be St. Hilary's original cell, and house his decorated sarcophagus in Greek marble (7th century). Galeata is the site of some religious foundations, including Santa Maria del Pantano, the Abbey of Sant'Ellero (dedicated to Hilary of Galeata), and the convent of Santa Maria dei Miracoli. *Church of ''Santa Maria del Pantano'', consecrated in 1295 but most likely far older. It was part of an Augustinian convent. Frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries are now in Mambrini Museum at Pianetto.

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Emilia-Romagna {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub