The provicne of Forlì-Cesena stands in the heart of Romagna region. A vaste and rich land, with ancient thermal traditions, that starts with the Appennino mountain peaks, coming down to the vineyards' hill of Sangiovese and Albana, through a florid countryard untill the seaside. This land brings all the history, traditions and amusements: a trip throughtout this beautiful zone represents a unique chance to dive into a charming atmosphere of sincere emotions, to perceive fully the heart of Romagna, even, why not, while dining.....
The Malatesta family while they took over the leadership of the city,
adjusted the image and the atmosphere, shaping it with the prestige of their
name and mixing it with they ancient umbro-etrusche origins.
The main monument of the city is the marvellous Malatestiana Library, left
as the sole and precious example of humanistic library entirely preserved in
each its architectural aspects, orignal manuscripts. This is why the Library
has been recently worldwide recognized by Unesco, with the prestigious award
of "Memory of the World".
Among the many historical buildings, it is important to mention the Abbey
on the Hill, located on the Spaziano hill, that benefits of an amazing view
and it still is a key point for all the Christian faithfuls.
The building mantained its Rinascimentale style, even tough the origins of
the complex come from the year 1000. Among the other reasons of interests,
we have to mention the huge collection of votive tablets, the immense cupole amazingly painted by Giuseppe Dilani and the restoring laboratory of ancient
books, still active nowadays.
The Malatestiana Fortress (Rocca), build within the Bizantine age and
enlarged during the Malatesta's years stands as a powerful fortification
that dominates the whole city.
On the inside court emerge two huge towers (the male and the female one)
that originally hosted the military legions of soldiers, while within the female tower it 's possible to visit the agricolture's museum. The court
also hosts a museum other than summertime shows and concerts.
It s worth to visit the City Hall, the Palazzo del Ridotto, the Masini Fountain on the Piazza del Popolo, the Basilica Cathedral and the Bonci Teather.
10 minutes away from Cesena, directly on the seaside, Cesenatico will
surprise any traveler, thanks to its beautuful Marina, designed and
projected directly by Leonardo da Vinci himself and the Sea'life Museum
nearby.
It s also impossible not to mention the the cozy and lovable Piazzetta delle
Conserve, a small square that brings all at once the ancient traditions of
hundreds and hundreds of years of sailor tradition, with its typical
containers excavated directly under the ground and where fishes were maintained and preserved.
Forlimpopoli, perfectly located half way between Forlì and Cesena, gave his
birth to worldwide famous chef Pellegrino Artusi, author of "Kitchen
Sciences and the Art of Fine Dining" a real masterpiece for all the
gourmands of the world. The Artusi is unanimously recognized as a real
ambassador of the Italian cuisine and his memory is well preserved with the "Artusiana week" (last week of June) where restaurateurs from all around
come to Forlimpopoli to show their way under the Artusi's rules of cooking.
The heart of the city remains the Rocca, which solidly maintains its
powerful walls and the four towers.
Bertinoro, typical medieval citadel, usually named as "Romagna's balcony" is mainly famous for its nice wines. Its high quality vineyards frame this
charming hamlet that has an outstanding its production of Sangiovese,
Albana, Cagnina and Pagadebit. Known also as the village of Hospitality,
Bertinoro has its symbol in the famous Column of the rings, built in the
1300 in order to assign to each noble family of the place the pleasure of
hosting the foreigners.
San Mauro Pascoli, gave his birth to the famous Italian poet Giovanni
Pascoli, and there it s still possible to visit his childhood house.This
beautiful building has been recognized as national monument since 1924 and
the time hasn t been able to change its original atmosphere. The tower, the
Torlonia farm, reflect all the emotion and passion that emerges from the Pascoli's poetry.
Ideally located just half way, on the hills between Cesena and Rimini, the
fashinating little village of Longiano represent a typical medieval hamlet. Its Malatestiana fortress, double-rimmed by huge walls, is now hosting the Balestra foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on modern and contemporary artists ( like i.e. Mino Maccari). Longiano stands out as an unespected crossroad for many cultural events (concerts, dance, prose, expositions, etc) thanks its beautiful Petrella theater, perfectly preserved
from year 1870. Those events are often offered even on the streets and the
little but cozy squares of the village, expecially during summertime.
The "Piadina" represents with no doubts the leading taste of Romagna. Often
used as a replacement for bread, the piadina is the most famous product in
the world. Its ancient roots are so solid that it s possible to try it
almost everywhere in the Romagna area. Colorful kiosks are piadina-dedicated
and offer a different version of the original recipe, depending on the zone
of Romagna where they stand.
Under the culinary aspect, the homamade pastas, pulled by hand and "mattarello" (a long wooder bar) as the Artusi rules, represent the building block of the Cucina Romagnola: cappelletti, strozzapreti, ravioli e i famosi passatelli, that may be tasted even with fish sauce. Fish plays a main role in the local cuisine: grigliate di pesce azzurro, le fritture, i brodetti di pesce and crostacei.
Coming to cheese, how not to mention the "formaggio di fossa". Perfectly aged into holes placed into the ground, following an ancient tradition from the 1400. The reference place is sogliano sul Rubicone, where every 25th of
november it s held the celebration of taking out the cheese forms from the
ground, called "rito della sfossatura". There's also a pretty good variety of fresh cheeses like raveggiolo,
squacquerone and ricotta.
Coming to sweets and cakes, Romagna has a tradition of simple but tasteful ones: the classic ciambella leads the way, with its ellectic shape with no hole. Then you may find the bustreng, homemade tart from the Cesena's hills, made with honey and sugar's pieces, the savor, a typical jam made with grapes' moist, added with season's fruits, almonds and pecan, and finally the braciatelli and the scroccadenti, simple and dry biscuits.
Finally we come to wine. Sangiovese di Romagna, albana, Trebbiano, Pagadebit and the sweet Cagnina are worldwide famous. All of them are easy to find in
any local cellar and ready to be tasted.
We sincerely recommend to all the gourmands and good cuisine lovers a tour inside of the Romagna region, between the via Emilia and the Appennino. The wines and tastes street runs for 280km and gives a chance to fully perceive the habits and the mentality behind the flavours that this very unique territory offers to its guests.
