Imola

Related Category: Italian Political Geography

(ē´mōlä), city (1991 pop. 62,567), Emilia-Romagna, N central Italy, on the Aemilian Way. It is an agricultural and market center, known for its ceramics. A Roman town (Forum Cornelii), it later (11th cent.) became a free commune. The city was subsequently ruled by tyrants (including the Visconti and the Sforza) until it passed to the papacy in the early 16th cent. Landmarks include a Gothic cathedral, several Renaissance palaces, and the “Rocca,” a large fortress (14th cent.).