Forlì (/fɔːrˈliː/ for-LEE; Italian: [forˈli] ⓘ; Romagnol: Furlè [furˈlɛ]; Latin: Forum Livii) is a comune (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.

[3] The city hosts some of Italy's culturally and artistically significant landmarks; it is also notable as the birthplace of painters Melozzo da Forlì and Marco Palmezzano, humanist historian Flavio Biondo, physicians Geronimo Mercuriali and Giovanni Battista Morgagni.

With no clear evidence, the exact date this occurred is still under debate, though some historians believe that the first settlement of the ancient Roman Forum was built in approximately 188 BC by consul Gaius Livius Salinator (the same that fought Hasdrubal Barca and vanquished him at the banks of the Metaurus River in 207 BC), who gave it the Latin name Forum Livii, meaning "the place of the gens Livia".

[6] With the collapse of Hohenstaufen power in 1257, imperial lieutenant Guido I da Montefeltro was forced to take refuge in Forlì, the only remaining Ghibelline stronghold in Italy.

He accepted the position of capitano del popolo ("Captain of the People") and led Forlì to notable victories: against the Bolognesi at the Ponte di San Proculo, on 15 June 1275;[8] against a Guelph allied force, including Florentine troops, at Civitella on 14 November 1276; and at Forlì itself against a powerful French contingent sent by Pope Martin IV, on 15 May 1282, in a battle cited by Dante Alighieri (who was hosted in the city in 1303 by Scarpetta Ordelaffi), Inferno 27.

The commune soon submitted to a local condottiere rather than accept a representative of direct papal control, and Simone Mestaguerra had himself proclaimed Lord of Forlì.

He did not succeed in leaving the new signory peacefully to an heir, however, and Forlì passed to Maghinardo Pagano, then to Uguccione della Faggiuola (1297), and to others, until in 1302 the Ordelaffi came into power.

When he died aged 40, under suspicion of poisoning, the situation of Forlì was weakened as factions of Ordelaffi fought one another, until Pope Sixtus IV claimed the signory for his nephew Girolamo Riario.

The French General recruited local officials and soldiers, resulting in political turmoil between 1820 and 1830, with risings in 1821 – including the revolutionary movement of the Carbonari in 1831 and 1848.

Afterwards in the 1920s, Benito Mussolini became actively involved in the local politics, before becoming dictator of Italy – a situation that remained for 20 years before the start of World War II.

The war left the city with destroyed monuments and artistic losses, such as the Church of San Biagio [it], which included frescoes by Melozzo da Forlì.

[6] Forlì is a prosperous agricultural and industrial centre, with manufacture primarily focused on silk, rayon, clothing, machinery, metals, and household appliances.

The city hosts the Palazzo Hercolani, with decorations dating from the 19th century; containing the artwork La Beata Vergine del Fuoco con i Santi Mercuriale, Pellegrino, Marcolino e Valeriano by Italian painter Pompeo Randi [it].

[12] The best-known painter of the comune was Melozzo da Forlì, who worked in Rome and other Italian cities during the brief years of the High Renaissance.