Forlì, 44°13′ N 12°02′ E, is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, the seat of the province of Forlì. Its 110,209 inhabitants are Forlivesi, because in Antiquity it was called Forum Livii: the legend that would make its founder the consul Livius Salinator, who confronted Hasdrubal and vanquished him at the banks of the Metaurus River 207 BCE, is strictly a legend. The old city was destroyed in 88 BCE during the civil wars of Marius and Sulla and rebuilt by the praetor Livius Clodius afterwards. After the collapse of the West, the city formed part of the realms of Odoacer and the Ostrogoth kingdom before becoming an outlier of the Byzantine power of the Exarchate of Ravenna In Italy, the commune (comune, plural comuni) is the basic administrative unit of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township. ... Emilia-Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. ... Forlì-Cesena (It. ... Titus Livius (around 59 BC - 17 AD), known as Livy in English, wrote a monumental history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, from its founding (traditionally dated to 753 BC). ... Hasdrubal was the name of several Carthaginian generals, among whom the following are the most important: 1. ... The Metauro River (in Latin Metaurus or Mataurus) of Italy rises in the Apennine Mountains of Tuscany and runs east for 109 km, reaching the Adriatic south of Fano. ... Odoacer, also known as Odovacar (435 – 493) was the half Hunnish, half Scirian chieftain of the Germanic Heruli. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... The Exarchate of Ravenna was a center of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751 A.D., when the last Exarch was put to death by the Emperors enemies in Italy, the Lombards. ...

In the time of the Lombards, the city was contested and was repeatedly retaken by Lombard forces, in 665, 728, 742 until its final incorporation with the Papal States in 757, part of the Donation of Pepin. By the 10th century, but perhaps a century earlier, the city had wrested control from its bishops and was established as one of the independent Italian city-states, the communes that signalled the first revival of urban Italian life. The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Scandinavia that entered the late Roman Empire. ... The Donation of Pippin in 756 provided a legal basis for the erection of the Papal States, which extended papal temporal rule beyond the traditional diocese of Rome. ...

In the medieval struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines, Forlí remained with the papal, Ghibelline factions, partly as a means of preserving its independence, rather than out of loyalty to the temporal power of the papacy. More local competition was involved in loyalties: in 1241, during Frederick II's struggles with Pope Gregory IX the people of Forlì offered its loyal support to Frederick II during the capture of the rival town, Faenza, and, as a sign of gratitude, they were granted an augmentation of the communal coat-of-arms with the Hohenstaufen eagle, together with other privileges. With the collapse of Hohenstaufen power in 1257, Guido da Montefeltro the staunchest imperial lieutenant, was forced to take refuge in Forlì, the only remaining stronghold of the Ghibelline political power. He accepted the position of capitano del popolo until the city was forced to accede to papal power and Guido to take his leave. The commune soon submitted to a local condottiere rather than accept a representative of direct papal control, and Simone Mestaguerra had himself proclaimed Lord of Forlì. He did not succeed in leaving the new signory peacefully to an heir, however, and Forlì passed to Maghinardo Pagano, Uguccione della Faggiuola (1297), and others, until in 1302 the Ordelaffi came into power. Local factions with papal support ousted the family several times, in 1327–29 and again in 1359–1375, and at other turns of events the bishops were expelled by the Ordelaffi: Fra Bartolomeo da Sanzetto (1351), was expelled by Francesco degli Ordelaffi and Bishop Giovanni Capparelli (1427), banished by Antonio degli Ordelaffi. Bishop Luigi Pirano (1437) took an active part in the Council of Ferrara. Forlì was seized in 1488 by Visconti and in 1499 by Cesare Borgia, after whose death it was more directly subject to the pope than it had ever been before. The Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting, respectively, the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire in Italy during the 12th century and 13th century. ... Frederick II (left) meets al-Kamil (right). ... Gregory IX, né Ugolino di Conti ( 1143–August 22, 1241), pope from 1227 to 1241, the successor of Honorius III, fully inherited the traditions of Gregory VII and of his uncle Innocent III, and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy. ... Faenza is an old Italian cathedral town, situated 50 km southeast of Bologna. ... Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of Kings of Germany, many of whom were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor and Dukes of Swabia. ... Condottieri were mercenary leaders employed by Italian city-states from the late Middle Ages until the mid-fifteenth century. ... A decree of the Council of Constance (9 October 1417), sanctioned by Pope Martin V obliged the papacy to summon general councils periodically. ... Cesare Borgia (September, 1475 - March 12, 1507), Duke of Valentinois, the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and brother to Lucrezia Borgia. ...

The diocese of Forlì was established early, for its bishop, venerated as Saint Mercurialis attended the Council of Rimini in 359; later legend moved him back into the Apostolic age. Saint Mercurialis was the first bishop of the city of Forlì, in Romagna. ... The Council of Rimini (also called the Council of Ariminum) was a Christian church council that took place in Rimini (Roman name, Ariminum) in July 359, and was concerned with the problem of Arianism. ...

External links

• Forlì and its historical background"
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Diocese of Forlì