Palazzo dei Commissari e del Pretorio - Terra del Sole | Castrocaro Terme E Terra Del Sole

Palazzo dei Commissari e del Pretorio - Terra del Sole

Terra del Sole is the Renaissance Fortress City in the hinterland of Forlì, known as Eliopoli, where you can freely visit the city, discover the Church of Santa Reparata, the courtyard of the Palazzo Pretorio, and by appointment enter the Museum, the Governor's Castle, and the Casematte.
Construction began on 8 December 1564, based on Cosimo I De Medici's profound military and engineering knowledge - accumulated over decades of experience as a prince, commander and soldier of fortune - with the aim of displaying the power and splendour of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the land of Romagna.

The town of Terra del Sole is surrounded by high walls measuring 13 meters in height, rectangular walls with a patrol walkway, 2 kilometres long, while a longitudinal axis joins the two gates of the town, which is also equipped with four high defensive bastions, each placed on a corner of the rectangle.
Built to guard the border with the Papal State, it still preserves the charm of a fortress-city: it is surmounted by two castles, that of the Capitano delle Artiglierie (Captain of the Artillery) defending the Florentine village and that of the Governatore (Governor) defending the Roman village.
Worth seeing on the first Sunday in September is the 'Palio di Santa Reparata' with over 300 participants from the historical districts in 16th century costumes.

Palazzo dei Commissari e del Pretorio - Terra del Sole - Palazzo Pretorio e panorama photo credits: |Battistini| - Pro loco

A bit of History

The Fortress City, commissioned by Cosimo I De Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany to defend the borders of the Grand Duchy, is a Renaissance city designed and built to be a symbolic city: both a war machine and the political administrative centre of the peripheral

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Romagna Fiorentina, considered the 'ideal city' of Emilia-Romagna.
For over two centuries, it served as the fortress city capital of the ancient Grand Ducal province of Tuscan Romagna.
Designed by the engineer Giovanbattista Camerini, the construction works were continued by architects Baldassarre Lanci, Simone Genga, and Buontalenti.

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Legends & Ghost Stories

The Florentine gentleman Giovanbattista Adiani recounts: "...it happened that the sky was dark in every other part, and full of clouds, the sun was discovered in the circuit of the design, while the divine office was being celebrated, and the sacred ceremonies were being performed, and the first stone was laid by the hand of a religious person; so, considering that this was not without the favour of Heaven, the Earth was called the City of the Sun".