Cesena
Cesena is a Malatesta city between the Adriatic Sea and the Apennines. A central town of Romagna and the meeting point of the ancient via Emilia and via Romea, it has an old centre full of traces of the Malatesta lordship and of great artistic and cultural interest. Washed by the river Savio, it is called the "city of three popes", having given birth to Pius VI and Pius VII and having had Pope Benedict XIII as its bishop.
Among its symbols: the imposing fortress; the Biblioteca Malatestiana (1454), the first civic library in Europe, listed by Unesco as part of the Memory of the World; and the Teatro Bonci, known throughout Italy for its programme and for the debut of Vittorio Gassman in 1952 in Hamlet.
Highlights
Not to be missed
Biblioteca MalatestianaFounded in the fifteenth century and added to Unesco's Memory of the World Register in 2005, it was the first civic library in both Italy and Europe.Read more
Rocca Malatestiana di CesenaThe Rocca Malatestiana in Cesena stands on the Colle Garampo. The hexagonal fortress was built to defend the city from outside attack.Read more
Teatro BonciThe Teatro Bonci in Cesena opened in 1846. From the outset it was a reference point for opera and drama performers from across Italy.Read more
Museo MusicaliaA museum of mechanical music where every object on display can actually play, tracing 500 years of the history of music.Read more
Places to see
Places to see in Cesena
Biblioteca MalatestianaFounded in the fifteenth century and added to Unesco's Memory of the World Register in 2005, it was the first civic library in both Italy and Europe.Read more
Teatro BonciThe Teatro Bonci in Cesena opened in 1846. From the outset it was a reference point for opera and drama performers from across Italy.Read more
Piazza del PopoloPiazza del Popolo dates back to the 1400s. It is the main square of Cesena, home to the Fontana Masini, the Loggetta Veneziana, the Rocchetta di Piazza and the...Read more
Parco Archeologico del Colle GarampoThe site holds remains from the pre-Roman, Roman republican and Byzantine periods, along with traces of the medieval settlement.Read more
Museums
Museums in Cesena
Casa Museo “Renato Serra”The Casa Museo, furnished with original pieces, houses numerous works and documentary records relating to artists from Romagna and the Cesena area between the...Read more
Galleria dei dipinti antichi della Cassa di risparmio di CesenaThe collection brings together paintings by Emilian and Romagnol artists from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, such as the Allegoria della Vanitas e...Read more
Museo Archeologico di CesenaThe Museum holds a range of finds spanning from prehistory to the Renaissance humanist period; a substantial part of the collection relates to the Roman...Read more
Museo della CenturiazioneThe Museo della Centuriazione in Cesena is based on ancient Roman centuriation, a system for organising land according to its productive, religious and...Read more
Monuments
Monuments in Cesena
Abbazia di Santa Maria del MonteThe original building dates back to the ninth century, when the monastery was also founded, while its current appearance is the result of restoration work...Read more
Cattedrale di San Giovanni BattistaThe Cattedrale di San Giovanni Battista is the Duomo of Cesena. Its construction was commissioned in 1378 by Galeotto I Malatesta, lord of the city. The...Read more
Chiesa di San DomenicoThe Chiesa di San Domenico stands in the old town of Cesena. It was built between 1706 and 1722, and is considered the city's second art gallery, thanks to its...Read more
Rocca Malatestiana di CesenaThe Rocca Malatestiana in Cesena stands on the Colle Garampo. The hexagonal fortress was built to defend the city from outside attack.Read more
Events
Events in Cesena
Festival Internazionale del Cibo di stradaDuring the event, the old town comes alive with distinctive scents and flavours, ranging from regional Italian specialities to typical dishes from countries...Read more
Fiera di San GiovanniThe Fiera di San Giovanni in Cesena is held in June, around the summer solstice. During the event, numerous stalls fill Piazza del Popolo and old beliefs and...Read more