Imola

Imola
Country	Italy
region	Emilia-Romagna
Metropolitan city	Bologna (BO)
Local name	Iommla / Jemula
Coordinates	44 ° 21 ' N , 11 ° 43' E Coordinates: 44 ° 21 '11 " N , 11 ° 42' 53" E
height	47 m slm
surface	204.94 km²
Residents	70,000 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	342 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	40026
prefix	0542
ISTAT number	037032
Popular name	Imolesi
Patron saint	San Cassiano
Website	www.comune.imola.bo.it

Imola is a city in Northern Italy ( Emilia-Romagna ) with 70,000 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the metropolitan city of Bologna . The city is the seat of numerous industrial companies and is known for its motorsport events . The patron saint of the city is Cassian of Imola .

geography

Imola is located about 32 kilometers southeast of Bologna on the northeastern foothills of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines at 47 m slm. At Imola, the river Santerno emerges from the valley of the same name into the Po plain . The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari is located on the orographic right side of the river Santerno on the southern outskirts of the city .

history

The city originated in antiquity , but there were settlements in the vicinity long before that. The name of the city "Forum Cornelii", known from Roman times, goes back to its founder Lucius Cornelius Sulla . The name Imola roughly translates as 'over there' or 'down there' and is probably due to the beautiful view from the surrounding hills over the place. Like many other Roman cities , Forum Cornelii was built at the intersection of a “ Decumanus Maximus” from west to east with a “ Cardo Maximus” from north to south.

In 422 the city was raised to the status of a bishopric from which the diocese of Imola was directed. In the 6th century the Lombards destroyed the place, whereupon it - now finally under the name "Imola" - was re-founded. Raised a free city in the 11th century, it came under the rule of Bologna for thirty years in 1262 . The fortress of Imola, called "Rocca", dates from the 14th century.

From 1424 to 1438 the Visconti family from Milan ruled the city. In 1502 Leonardo da Vinci stayed in it and created city maps. Two years later, Imola came into the possession of the Riario family and became part of the Papal States . In 1861 it passed to the newly founded Kingdom of Italy .

During the Allied spring offensive in 1945, soldiers of the Polish II Corps ended the German occupation of the city on April 14, 1945 .

San Cassiano Martire Cathedral
La Rocca - the Sforza fortress
Santa Maria dei Servi church in Piazza Mirri
City Theatre
Piazza Matteotti

traffic

The Strada Statale 9 Via Emilia runs through Imola, which essentially follows the Via Aemilia built by the Romans . The city is on the Bologna – Ancona railway line . Until 1935 Imola was the terminus of the steam-powered tram Bologna – Imola and until 1944 part of the branch line Massa Lombarda –Imola– Fontanelice . To the north of the city, the A14 “Adriatica” motorway leads past the Imola junction.

Motorsport

Today Imola is essentially known as the venue for many motorsport events, such as the Formula 1 race “ The San Marino Grand Prix ”, which was held in the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari until 2006 . In 1994, the multiple Formula 1 world champion Ayrton Senna was killed in a racing accident here. The day before, there was a fatal accident on the track in which the Austrian Formula 1 driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed.

sons and daughters of the town

Innocenzo Francucci also Innocenzo da Imola (* between 1490 and 1494; † between 1547 and 1550), painter
Cosimo Morelli (1732-1812), architect
Antonio Domenico Gamberini (1760–1841), bishop and cardinal
Andrea Costa (1851–1910), first anarchist, later socialist politician
Gastone Gambara (1890–1962), General
Giuliano Poletti (* 1951), politician
Fausto Gresini (* 1961), motorcycle racer
Moreno Mannini (* 1962), football player
Giancarlo Marocchi (* 1965), football player
Stefano Domenicali (* 1965), former team manager at Scuderia Ferrari