Rocca Sforzesca di Imola

The fortress stands at the south-west corner of Imola's historic centre. Its origins date back to the 13th century; over the centuries it was inhabited and strengthened by the Church, the Alidosi, the Visconti, the Manfredi and the Sforza families. The form you see today, with its great keep, round corner towers and moat, dates from the second half of the 15th century, adapted for the arrival of cannons.

In 1473 Imola passed to Girolamo Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, who married Caterina Sforza: for several years the fortress was their residence. At the end of 1499 Cesare Borgia, known as il Valentino, took the city and the fortress during his conquest of Romagna.

Leonardo da Vinci also worked for il Valentino: in 1502 he drew the famous plan of Imola, one of the first modern maps of a city seen from above, and studied the fortress's defences, during the same months when Niccolò Machiavelli was also in the city. Later, under the Papal States, the fortress became a prison and remained so until 1958.

After restoration it became a museum, with a collection of weapons and armour and one of medieval and Renaissance ceramics found in the city. Since 2024 the fortress has been closed again for a lengthy restoration project: you can see it from outside, and in the meantime you can visit the other Musei di Imola, Palazzo Tozzoni and the Museo di San Domenico.