Rocca di Ravaldino

Forlì's Rocca di Ravaldino, also known as the Rocca of Caterina Sforza, preserves the layered defences built by the Ordelaffi, the Riario and Caterina Sforza. The fortress resisted Cesare Borgia's siege before falling on 12 January 1500; a Borgia coat of arms still marks the breach.

Why it matters

The surviving fortress began in 1471, when Pino III Ordelaffi commissioned architect Giorgio Marchesi Fiorentino. Girolamo Riario added the Cittadella in 1481, and in 1496 Caterina Sforza added a residential palazzino known as Il Paradiso. The fortress complex of stronghold, citadel and outworks reflects the political rivalries of late fifteenth-century Romagna.

What to notice

The Rocca's quadrilateral stronghold and four circular towers form the core of a wider defensive system once separated by moats and drawbridges. Remains of the rivellino di Cotogni are still visible. On the south side, the Borgia arms mark the breach made during the siege of 1499–1500. The central keep, or maschio, has three stacked rooms and a stone spiral stair of sixty-seven steps, held in place without a central support.

Context and history

In 1499, Niccolò Machiavelli inspected the fortress and judged its elaboration vulnerable. Cesare Borgia's artillery opened the walls in December, and the fortress fell on 12 January 1500. Caterina Sforza was taken prisoner to Rome. After the Borgia period, the fortress lost its military role and was used for storage and as a prison. Recent restoration rebuilt roofs over two towers and the keep and stabilised the masonry. The municipality acquired the fortress in the twentieth century.