Imola

Imola is a town, comune and episcopal see in the province of Bologna, located on the Santerno river, in the Emilia-Romagna region of north-central Italy

Presently it is most noted as the home of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari and the Formula One San Marino Grand Prix. The race, named for the nearby independent republic of San Marino, which is too small to host a grand prix, is generally referred to by the name "Imola." The track is most associated with the tragic accident in which the great Ayrton Senna lost his life, in 1994.

Noteworthy among the secular edifices of Imola are the Farsetti and the municipal 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 sixteenth century, the Accademia degli Industriosi flourished.

Imola is twinned with Colchester, Essex, UK, a town which can claim to be Britain's oldest.

History

:For the ecclesiastical history see Bishopric of ImolaThe 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 seventh 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 (535â€"552), and after the Lombards 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 Alidosi with the title of pontifical vicar, the power remaining in the family Alidosi until 1424, when Angelo della Pergola, "capitano" for Filippo Maria Visconti, gained the supremacy. But 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 Dassatelli 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

Famous Imolans

*Pope Honorius II
*Benvenuto da Imola (Rambaldi), a lecturer on Dante at the University of Bologna in the 14th century
*Taddeo della Volpe, a 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 Sassitelli, surnamed il Cagnaccio, who was also a captain
*Ottaviano Vestri and his son Marcello, famous jurists of the 16th and 17th centuries
*Innocenzo da Imola
*Andrea and Giuseppe Bagnari, noted for their skill in inlaid 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
*St. Hippolytus
*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

Fractions

Casola Canina, Chiusura, Fabbrica, Giardino, Linaro, Montecatone, Piratello, Ponticelli, San Prospero, Sasso Morelli, Selva, Sesto Imolese, Spazzate Sassatelli, Zello

See also

*Bishopric of Imola

Sources

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