Forlì is a quiet city that many tourists see as the gateway to Bologna and other major tourist destinations in the area. All this because of the airport served by numerous low cost airlines. The city itself has several noteworthy monuments and one of the best-preserved architectural complexes from the reign of Benito Mussolini.
The origins of the city date back to Roman times, but no buildings from that period have survived. It also developed in the Middle Ages as a local center of trade and crafts. In the 13th century, a Dominican monastery with the church of St. James. Today, its restored premises houses the San Domenico Museum with an extensive collection of sacred art.
The focal point of Forlì and its biggest attraction is Aurelio Saffi Square , surrounded by buildings from different eras. The oldest of them is the 12th century monastery of San Mercuriale with a tall bell tower. There is also one of the city's characteristic palaces from the 1930s.
Forlì and its environs occupied a special place in Mussolini's various construction plans due to the fact that they were the dictator's home country. You can see here modernist Italian architecture from the interwar period and numerous villas of state dignitaries referring in the form to Renaissance and Classicist palaces.
