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Imola Iômla
—  Comune  —
Comune di Imola
Rocca Sforzesca.
Coat of arms
Imola Location of Imola in Italy
Coordinates: 44°21′N 11°43′E / 44.35°N 11.717°E / 44.35; 11.717
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province	Bologna (BO)
Frazioni	Cantalupo, Càsola Canina, Chiusura, Fabbrica, Giardino, Linaro, Montecatone, Piratello, Ponticelli, San Prospero, Sasso Morelli, Selva, Sesto Imolese, Spazzate Sassatelli, Zello
Government
• Mayor	Daniele Manca
Area
• Total	204.96 km2 (79.14 sq mi)
Elevation	47 m (154 ft)
Population (December 31, 2007)
• Total	67,301
• Density	330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Demonym	Imolesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	40026
Dialing code	0542
Patron saint	St. Cassian
Saint day	August 13
Website	Official website

The Cathedral of Imola.

Imola (Iômla in the local dialect) is a town and comune in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno River, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy. The town is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna. The Sacmi group of companies were founded here in 1919.^[1] John Restakis considers it "to be one of the towns most venerated institutions".^[2]:65

The city is most noted as the home of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari who formerly hosted the Formula One San Marino Grand Prix. The race is named for the nearby independent republic of San Marino, which is too small to host a grand prix, and the deaths of Formula One drivers Ayrton Senna (Brazilian) and Roland Ratzenberger (Austrian) during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

History[link]

The city was anciently called Forum Cornelii, after the Roman dictator L. Cornelius Sulla, who founded it about 82 BCE. The town was an agricultural and trade center, famous for its ceramics.

The name Imola was first used in the 7th century by the Lombards, who applied it to the fortress (the present Castellaccio, the construction of which is attributed to the Lombard Clefi), whence the name passed to the city itself. According to Paul the Deacon, Imola was in 412 the scene of the marriage of Ataulf, King of the Visigoths, to Galla Placidia, daughter of Emperor Theodosius the Great. In the Gothic War (535–552), and after the Lombard invasion, it was held alternately by the Byzantines and barbarians.

With the exarchate of Ravenna it passed under papal authority. In the ninth century it was bravely defended against the Saracens and Hungarians by Fausto Alidosi. In the tenth century Troilo Nordiglio acquired great power. This and the following centuries witnessed incessant wars against the Ravennatese, the Faentines and the Bolognese, as well as the internecine struggles of the Castrimolesi (from Castro Imolese, "castle of Imola") and the Sancassianesi (from San Cassiano). Amid these conflicts was formed the republican constitution of the city. In the contest between pope and emperor, Imola was generally Ghibelline, though it often returned to the popes (e.g. in 1248). Several times, powerful lords attempted to obtain the mastery of the city (Alidosi, 1292; Maghinardo Pagano, 1295). Pope Benedict XII turned the city and its territory over to Lippo II Alidosi with the title of pontifical vicar, the power remaining in the family Alidosi until 1424, when the condottiero Angelo della Pergola, "capitano" for Filippo Maria Visconti, gained the supremacy (see also Wars in Lombardy). In 1426 the city was restored to the Holy See, and the legate (later Cardinal) Capranica inaugurated a new regime in public affairs.

It was later ruled by various condottieri, such as the Visconti, from which era several landmark fortresses remain. In 1434, 1438 and 1470 Imola was conferred on the Sforza, who had become lords of Milan. It was again brought under papal authority when it was bestowed as dowry on Catherine Sforza, the bride of Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV. Riario was invested with the Principality of Forlì and Imola. This proved advantageous to Imola, which was embellished with beautiful palaces and works of art (e.g. in the cathedral, the tomb of Girolamo, murdered in 1488 by conspirators of Forli). The rule of the Riarii, however, was brief, as Pope Alexander VI deprived Ottaviano, son of Girolamo, of power, and on 25 November 1499, the city surrendered to Caesar Borgia. On his death two factions, that of Galeazzo Riario and that of the Church, contested the rule of the city. The ecclesiastical party was victorious, and in 1504 Imola submitted to Pope Julius II. The last trace of these contests was a bitter enmity between the Vaini and Sassatelli families.

In 1797 the revolutionary French forces established a provisional government at Imola; in 1799 it was occupied by the Austrians; in 1800 it was united to the Cisalpine Republic. After that it shared the fortunes of the Romagna region.

Main sights[link]

• Rocca Sforzesca (Sforza Castle), built under the reign of Girolamo Riario and Caterina Sforza. Now houses a Cinema d'Estate which shows films in July and August.
• Palazzo Tozzoni (Tozzoni's Mansion), built between 1726 and 1738 by the architect Domenico Trifogli, civic art museum since 1981.
• Duomo (cathedral), dedicated to San Cassiano. Erected from 1187 to 1271, it was repeatedly restored in the following centuries, until a large renovation was held in 1765–1781. The façade dates to 1850.
• Convento dell'Osservanza, including the church of San Michele from 1472, to which later a convent with two cloisters was added. It houses a sarcophagus of Bianca Landriani (1496), daughter of Caterina Sforza. The interior has a nave and an aisles, finished in 1942; it houses a fresco attributed to Guidaccio da Imola (1472). In the apse is a Byzantine-style crucifix from the 15th century. The first cloister, dating to 1590, had originally 35 frescoes of stories of St. Francis, 15 of which went lost. In the garden annexed to the church is a precious Pietà in terracotta of late-15th century Bolognese or Faenza school.

Noteworthy are also the Farsetti and the Communal palaces. In the latter is a fresco representing Clement VII and Charles V (1535) passing through the city. The public library was established in 1747 by the Conventual Padre Setti. In the 16th century, the Accademia degli Industriosi flourished.

Notable people[link]

• Pope Honorius II
• Benvenuto Rambaldi da Imola, a lecturer on Dante at the University of Bologna in the 14th century
• Taddeo della Volpe, a mercenary captain in the service of the popes and Venice (in 1510 Venice presented him with a staff bearing the image of a fox and his device: SIMUL ASTU ET DENTIBVS UTAR)
• Giovanni Sassatelli, nicknamed Cagnaccio ('bad dog'), also a captain
• Luca Ghini, scientist of the 16th century who founded the first botanical garden (Orto botanico) at the University of Pisa and the Bologna.
• Ottaviano Vestri and his son Marcello Vestri, jurists of the 16th and 17th centuries
• Innocenzo da Imola
• Vincenzo Dal Prato, castrato for whom the role of Idamante was written by Mozart
• Andrea and Giuseppe Bagnari, noted for their skill in inlay work
• Cosimo Morelli, the architect who designed the sacristy of St. Peter's, Rome
• Innocenzo di Pietro Francucci da Imola, painter, a pupil of Francia and Gaspare Sacchi, distinguished painters, nicknamed after his birthplace
• Saint Hippolytus of Rome, author
• According to tradition, Saint Cassian of Imola was a teacher and martyr there during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate in the 4th century.
• Saint Peter Chrysologus, who was a deacon there
• Andrea Costa, politician, considered to be among the founders of the Socialism in Italy
• Fausto Gresini, who runs a successful MotoGP team
• Stefano Domenicali, General Manager of Ferrari Formula One Racing Team

Medals and awards[link]

• In the June 12, 1984 Imola was awarded of the Medaglia d'Oro al Valor Militare (Gold Purple Heart) for the role of the city in the Italian resistance movement
• In the June 2, 1971 the city was awarded of the Medaglia d'oro ai benemeriti della scuola della cultura e dell'arte (Gold Merit Badge of the Art and Culture School).

International relations[link]

Twin towns — Sister cities[link]

Imola is twinned with:

See also[link]

• Bishopric of Imola

Sources[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

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