The name of Forlimpopoli derives from theRomanForum Popilii,[3] most likely connected to the consulPublius Popillius Laenas, who founded it in 132 BC. The area has been inhabited sincePalaeolithic times, as proved by recent archaeological discoveries. Later it was settled by theUmbri and theGauls from thePianura Padana. In the 1st century BC Forum Popili become amunicipium, and flourished due to its location near the important port ofClassis (for which it providedamphorae for wine transport), as well as its own agricultural production.
It started to decay in the 3rd century AD, and, as in the High Middle Ages the area became marshy, its agricultural output fell drastically. In this period it was part of theByzantineExarchate of Ravenna and had its first Catholic bishop in the 5th century; over his sepulchre, outside the town, a Benedictine monastery was founded. In the 7th century Forlimpopoli was ravaged by theLombard kingGrimoald; in the following century it fell underPapal rule. Later the city started to grow again with the foundation of another burgh, theCivitas Nova, and with the communal autonomy.
In the 13th century it became a fief of theOrdelaffi family from Forlì. Their expansion was momentarily halted by the Papal reconquest by CardinalGil de Albornoz who, in 1361, ordered the destruction of Forlimpopoli due to its loyalty to the Ordelaffi. A chronicle from ten years later states that the town no longer existed, the bishopric having been moved toBertinoro, and the cathedral having been replaced by a fortress, the currentRocca. A few years laterSinibaldo Ordelaffi, now in peaceful terms with the Popes, had the town rebuilt with the construction of a line of walls. In the 15th and 16th centuries it was a possession of several families, including the Riario andCesare Borgia. In 1535 it was returned to the Papal States, who assigned it in turn as a fief to the Zampeschi family, followed by theSavelli and the Cardinal Capponi. Direct Papal authority was restored after theNapoleonic Wars.
An imposing and very well-preserved castle from the 16th century lies in the centre of the town. It houses the local government, the archeological museum, a theatre and the music school.
Outside the town is the Sanctuary ofSanta Maria delle Grazie di Fornò, one of the most notable circular plan churches in Italy (late 15th century). It features two works byAgostino di Duccio. The basilica ofSan Rufillo was originally built in the 6th century but it is now a more recent reconstruction; it is home to two canvases byLuca Longhi andFrancesco Menzocchi, and the tomb ofBrunoro II Zampeschi, lord of Forlimpopoli.
The church of theServi (mid-15th century) has a painting byMarco Palmezzano.
The "Scuola di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli" was founded by the commune of Forlimpopoli and is now carried by an association of teachers and students. The main focus of teaching is the traditional folk music of the region. The music school has a supra-regional importance. In cooperation with the academyFürsteneck Castle in Germany and the Eric Sahlström Institutet in Sweden it developed the"European Nyckelharpa Training".
