Meldola () is a town and ''

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 ...

'' near

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, ...

, in

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

The area of Meldola has been inhabited since very ancient times. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

built here a large aqueduct (still existing under the ground) which served the military port of Classis. To the 5th-6th century belongs a large patrician villa which is now under the historical centre. In the Middle Ages, a castle was present, the name Meldola was first attested around the year 1000. The castle was a possession of the

Montefeltro Montefeltro is a historical and geographical region in northern Italy. It gave its name to the House of Montefeltro, Montefeltro family, who ruled in the area during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The mountainous region includes San Marino ...

Ordelaffi The Ordelaffi were a noble family that ruled the lower Romagna and Napoli from the 13th century to 1504, with some interregnums. History The Ordelaffi origins are unclear, but themselves claimed a lineage with "Lor de Laffia", a Germanic soldier ...

, Malatesta, the

Borghese The House of Borghese ( , ) is a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the '' commune''. During the 16th century, t ...

Aldobrandini The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican. History Their ...

and the Doria Pamphilj. It gained the status of city in 1862, soon after the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...

Main sights

*''Rocca'' (castle) *Castle of Teodorano, outside the city. Of the originary fortified burgh, destroyed by

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, a tower and part of the walls remain. *Church of the ''Madonna del Sasso'' (1523). It is now home to the Ecology Museum. *Churches of ''San Cosimo'' and ''San Nicolò''. *''Ponte dei Veneziani'' (Venetians' Bridge), a 5-arch bridge dating from the early 16th-century. *Scardavilla Wood preserved area *''

Rocca delle Caminate Rocca delle Caminate is a Middle Ages, medieval castle located in Meldola, around from Predappio in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It functioned as the summer home of Benito Mussolini, who was born in Predappio. History The ''Rocca delle Ca ...

'' fortress, which was a summer residence of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

Government

List of mayors

Economy

In the late 19th century and in the first years of 20th century, Meldola was well known for its production of

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

. The main activities include agriculture and the manufacture of furniture. A recently built oncology hospital provides research into cancer and care for cancer patients.

Notable people

The following notable persons were born in Meldola: the philosopher and theologian

Bartholomew Mastrius Bartholomew Mastrius (; ; Meldola, near Forlì, 7 December 1602 – Meldola, 11 January 1673) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan philosopher and theologian. Life Born at Meldola, near Forlì, in 1602, he received his early education at C ...

; the patriot

Felice Orsini Felice Orsini (; ; 10 December 1819 – 13 March 1858) was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the '' Carbonari'' who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French. Early life Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, th ...

; the painter Maria Giuditta Versari. Football coach

Alberto Zaccheroni Alberto Zaccheroni (; born 1 April 1953) is an Italian former association football, football manager, formerly in charge of the United Arab Emirates national football team, United Arab Emirates and Japan national football team, Japan national fo ...

was also born in Meldola. *

Annarita Balzani Annarita Balzani (born 15 April 1967 in Meldola) is a former Italian sprinter. Biography She won three medals at senior level, two of these with the national relay team at International athletics competitions. She has 26 caps for the national ...

, italian sprinter * Enrico Lombardi, painter and writer * Fabio Lombardi, ethnomusicologist and organologist * Luigi Michelacci, painter *

Gian Luca Zattini Gian Luca Zattini (born 12 April 1955 in Meldola) is an Italian politician. Zattini studied as MD and works as dentist; he was a member of the Christian Democracy (1980-1994) and served as member of municipal council (from 1975) and mayor of Mel ...

, politician

References

* {{EmiliaRomagna-geo-stub