Interesting medieval village in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Civitella di Romagna is located on the right side of the river Ronco-Bidente, at the foot of the hill Girone. It was the main centre of three smaller municipalities till 1891: Civitella, Predappio and Mortano.
The name has clear Roman origins, "Civitatula" (small town or citadella).
The town was mentioned for the first time in a document of 996 as a possession of the Church of Ravenna, then became a fiefdom of the Counts of Giaggiolo. Subsequently over the centuries, it was ceded to the Manfredi of Faenza, the Malatesta (1462), Napoleone Orsini and to the Venetians of the Duke of Urbino. In the XV century, the territories were incorporated into the Papal States.
Sites of Interest:
- the remains of the castle of Civitella, of particular interest s the Gothic style Clock Tower installed in 1842, which replaced the previous watch tower, present here since 1554;
- the Shrine of Our Lady of Suasia, built with the offerings of the faithful in 1556 on designs of the architect of Florence, Zenobio Lastricati,
- the Church of Santa Maria in Borgo, built just outside the ancient castle, in which, besides precious paintings of the XVIII, is preserved also an XI century stoup, made from a Roman column capital;
- the Oratory of St. Filippo Neri, which features a small church with a precious painting of an unknown artist, depicting the saint;
- the Church of the Castle, entitled to St. Anthony, the oldest in the town, dating from the XVII century, inside which are preserved valuable Baroque decorations.