Rocca di Ravaldino

The fortress takes its name from the Ravaldino gate at the southern corner of the city. The structure you see is the one commissioned by the Ordelaffi family and later strengthened by the Sforza in the second half of the fifteenth century: a large quadrilateral of walls with cylindrical towers, the keep and the citadel, once surrounded by a moat.

It is forever linked to the name of Caterina Sforza, Lady of Forlì and Imola. Here, in 1488, after the murder of her husband Girolamo Riario, she stood firm against the conspirators; and here, between December 1499 and January 1500, she resisted the siege of Cesare Borgia, known as Il Valentino, until the fortress fell. Her son Giovanni was also born in Forlì, the future Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, father of Cosimo I de' Medici.

For many years the fortress was a prison and only recently has it been returned to the people of Forlì: the municipality has opened it to the public with free admission at weekends. You can walk around the courtyard and, in small groups accompanied by staff, climb up onto the walkways.

The fortress is just a few steps from the Musei San Domenico: by combining the two visits you'll understand Renaissance Forlì, from warfare to art.