The Parco della Resistenza is a public garden in Forlì, one of the oldest in the city, with an Italian-style layout and two main entrances, on viale Spazzoli and on piazzale della Vittoria.
What to see
It was designed in 1816 by the architect L. Mirri and, though reworked several times, keeps a layout with an Enlightenment stamp: the Italian scheme was chosen for the garden, even though the English one was gaining ground. Originally there was a central obelisk surrounded by symmetrical flower beds and four other smaller focal points that set off the statues of the four seasons; at the far end, in line with the entrance, stood a small temple, a Kaffehaus and the keeper's house. In 1928 the engineer G. Santarelli completely remade the garden, raising the ground level for better drainage of rainwater, separating the pedestrian paths from those for carriages and replacing the buildings at the far end with a single large service building; in the 1970s further restorations extended it to viale Spazzoli.
In the part towards viale Spazzoli there is a pond in the middle with ducks, swans and fish; near the entrance a bronze statue shows Primo Carnera, and further on there is a memorial to the victims of the Nazi camps and of all imprisonments. Entering from piazzale della Vittoria you see the bust of Giuseppe Gaudenzi, mayor and deputy of Forlì, founder and first secretary of the Italian Republican Party. In the new part, from via Spazzoli, there is also a library.
Visiting
According to the sources consulted, at the piazzale della Vittoria entrance the Comune has set up a daily free bicycle-hire service, against a document and a small deposit: availability and hours should be checked on the spot.
Our editors' tip
Enter from piazzale della Vittoria and cross the park to the pond towards viale Spazzoli: you pass from Gaudenzi's bust to the memorial to the victims of the camps, and the Enlightenment garden turns into a place of memory.
