History

The area of Meldola was inhabited since very ancient times. The Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 built here a large aqueduct (still existing under the ground) which served the military port of Classis. To the 5th-6th century belongs a large patrician villa which is now under the historical centre.

In the Middle Ages a castle was present, the name Meldola first attested around the year 1000. The castle was a possession of the Montefeltro

Montefeltro

thumb|Coat of Arms of the Montefeltro family.Montefeltro is the name of an historical Italian family who ruled Urbino and Rimini.The family's reign began in 1267 when Buonconte I da Montefeltro was elected podestà of Urbino...

, Ordelaffi, Malatesta

Malatesta

Malatesta may refer to:*The House of Malatesta, an Italian family which ruled over Rimini from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century*Errico Malatesta , an Italian anarchist*Malatesta , a 1970 German film...

, the Borghese

Borghese

Borghese is the surname of a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century holding offices under the commune. The head of the family, Marcantonio, moved to Rome in the 16th century and there,...

 Aldobrandini

Aldobrandini

The Aldobrandini are an Italian noble family from Florence, with close ties to the Vatican. Its Roman fortunes were made when Ippolito Aldobrandini became pope under the name Pope Clement VIII. He arranged the marriage that linked the Aldobrandini with the Roman family of Pamphili...

 and the Doria Pamphilj. It gained the status of city in 1862, soon after the unification of Italy.

Main sights

• Rocca (castle)
• Castle of Teodorano, outside the city. Of the originary fortified burgh, destroyed by Cesare Borgia
  Cesare Borgia
  Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...
  
  , a tower and part of the walls remain.
• Church of the Madonna del Sasso (1523). It is now home to the Ecology Museum.
• Churches of San Cosimo and San Nicolò.
• Ponte dei Veneziani (Venetians' Bridge), a 5-archs bridge dating from the early 16th-century.
• Scardavilla Wood preserved area
• Rocca delle Caminate fortress, which was a summer residence of Benito Mussolini
  Benito Mussolini
  Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
  
  

Economy

In the late 19th century and in the first years of 20th century, Meldola was well known for its production of silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

. The main activities include agriculture and the manufacture of furniture. A recently built oncology hospital provides research into cancer and care for cancer patients.

Notable people

The following notable persons were born in Meldola: the philosopher and theologian Bartolomeo Mastri; the patriot Felice Orsini

Felice Orsini

Felice Orsini was an Italian revolutionary and leader of the Carbonari who tried to assassinate Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.-Early:Felice Orsini was born at Meldola in Romagna, then part of the Papal States....

; the painter Maria Giuditta Versari.