Bertinoro is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Forlì-Cesena

Province of Forlì-Cesena

The Province of Forlì-Cesena is a province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Forlì.It has an area of 2,377 km², and a total population of 371,318 . There are 30 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Forlì-Cesena...

, Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna

Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....

 (Italy). It is located on hill, Mount Cesubeo, in Romagna

Romagna

Romagna is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to the east, and the rivers Reno and Sillaro to the north and west...

, a few kilometers from the Via Emilia.

History

There are remains of a settlement dating from the Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

, next to the frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

of Casticciano. As for Bertinoro itself, it was probably a strongpoint on the Roman road connecting Forlì

Forlì

Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...

 to Rimini

Rimini

Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...

. Later, during the barbaric invasions, it was moved to the current location.

In 1177 the castle, already well developed and known as Castrum Cesubeum, housed the emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The named changed to Castrum Brittinori during the reign of Otto III

Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor

Otto III , a King of Germany, was the fourth ruler of the Saxon or Ottonian dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. He was elected King in 983 on the death of his father Otto II and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 996.-Early reign:...

, becoming seat of countship.

Main sights

• The Rocca (castle), built around the year 1000. It is now home to the Museum of Holy Arts and a section of the University of Bologna
  University of Bologna
  The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
  
  .
• The Communal Palace, built in 1306 by Pino I Ordelaffi
  Pino I Ordelaffi
  Pino I Ordelaffi was an Italian condottiero and lord of Forlì from 1386 until his death. A member of the Ordelaffi family, he was the son of Giovanni Ordelaffi and Tebalda Malatesta. He was also Papal vicar of Forlimpopoli, Castrocaro Terme and Sarsina.After imprisoning his uncle Sinibaldo, he...
  
  .
• Colonna delle Anelle ("Column of the Ring" or "Column of hospitality"). It is a column in white stone with 12 rings erected in 1300 by the noble families of the town to show their hospitality. Each one of the rings corresponded to one family, when the foreigners arrived in the town and tied the horse bridles to a ring they selected their host.
• The Cathedral, built in the 16th century.
• The Pieve
  Pieve
  In the Middle Ages, a pieve was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended.The Italian word pieve is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people...
  
  (church) of San Donato, in the frazione of Polenta. It became famous as the object of a poem by Giosuè Carducci
  Giosuè Carducci
  Giosuè Alessandro Michele Carducci was an Italian poet and teacher. He was very influential and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906 he became the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
  
  . It has maintained parts of the original late 9th century edifice.

Culture and society

Bertinoro is famous for its "Hospitality Festival".
Held in the first weekend of September, it foresees an entire night of music, dances and events (between Friday and Saturday), some historic rievocations and the final Hospitality Rite (Sunday late morning).
In this ceremony anyone can be hosted for meal by a family in the town simply taking one of the envelopes tied to the rings of the Hospitality column (which inside has the name of the hosting family).

Notable residents

Obadiah ben Abraham

Obadiah ben Abraham

Obadiah ben Abraham of Bertinoro was a 15th-century rabbi best known for his popular commentary on the Mishnah, commonly known as "The Bartenura".He was born and lived in the second half of the 15th-century in Italy and died in Jerusalem, Palestine about 1500...

, also known as "The Bartenura" after the town, was a 15th century rabbi and commentator of the Mishnah

Mishnah

The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...

.