Faenza

Faenza: cathedral

Faenza, Latin Faventia, city, Ravenna provincia, in the Emilia-Romagna regione of northern Italy, on the Lamone River, southeast of Bologna. In the 2nd century bc it was a Roman town (Faventia) on the Via Aemilia, but excavations show Faenza to have had a much earlier origin. It was later subject to many barbarian attacks, became an independent commune at the beginning of the 12th century, and withstood an eight-month siege by Frederick II in 1240–41. In 1313 Faenza was taken by the Francesco Manfredi family, which retained possession until the city was captured by Cesare Borgia in 1501. It then remained part of the Papal States, except for the brief domination of Napoleon (1797–1814), until it was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1859, passing to the Italian kingdom in 1861.

In the medieval period and most notably in the 15th and 16th centuries, Faenza was famous for the production of majolica (glazed pottery; see Faenza majolica). Examples of ceramics of every age and origin are contained in the city’s International Museum of Ceramics (founded 1908), which was completely rebuilt after World War II. Faenza preserves traces of the Roman rectangular plan, surrounded by 15th-century walls. The city’s notable landmarks are the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, including the cathedral, begun in 1474 by Giuliano da Maiano, with an incomplete facade; the medieval palaces of the Podestà and of the Commune; and the civic museum and art gallery. Faenza’s industries include artistic handicrafts and machine building; fruit and wine are exported. Pop. (2004 est.) 54,315.