The village was called Fontana until 1911, when a royal decree gave it the name Fontana Elice, taken from the old Fons Ilicis: the fountain by the holm oak. The fountain is still there, in the square of the old centre, and it has ended up on the coat of arms. The province changed more than once as well: in December 1859 Fontana joined that of Ravenna, and only in 1884 did it pass to Bologna.
Giuseppe Mengoni was born here, the architect who designed the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan; the old public palace, which swallowed the square keep and the prison of the castle, now houses the archive museum named after him. Outside the village stands the Torre di Fornione, fief and residence of the Alidosi, where one great hall keeps the frescoes that in 1567 Giuseppe Pasini of Faenza painted portraying members of the family. Part of the municipal territory falls within the Vena del Gesso Romagnola, a UNESCO heritage site.
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📅 Every year, on 8 September
On 8 September Fontanelice, a municipality of 1,927 inhabitants in the province of Bologna, celebrates the Nativity of Mary, a feast proclaimed after the earthquake of 1672.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Fontanelice, but an easy day trip away.
