Cesena

Cesena
Comune
Comune di Cesena
Panorama of Cesena
Cesena Location of Cesena in Italy
Coordinates: 44°08′N 12°14′E / 44.133°N 12.233°E / 44.133; 12.233Coordinates: 44°08′N 12°14′E / 44.133°N 12.233°E / 44.133; 12.233
Country	Italy
Region	Emilia-Romagna
Province / Metropolitan city	Forlì-Cesena (FC)
Frazioni	see list
Government
• Mayor	Paolo Lucchi (PD)
Area
• Total	249.47 km2 (96.32 sq mi)
Elevation	44 m (144 ft)
Population (12-31-2013)
• Total	97,131
• Density	390/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Cesenati
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	47521 - 47522, 47023 (old)
Dialing code	0547
Patron saint	St. John the Baptist
Saint day	June 24
Website	Official website

Cesena (Italian pronunciation: [tʃeˈzɛːna]) is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the Adriatic Sea.

Cesena was originally an Umbrian or Etruscan town, later known as Caesena. After a brief spell under Gaulish rule, it was taken over by Romans in the 3rd century BC. It was a garrison town of strategic importance which was destroyed in the wars between Gaius Marius and Sulla. Pliny mentions the wines of Cesena as among the best.

Cesena was on the border that the Exarchate of Ravenna shared with the Lombards. It was presented to the Papacy by its Frankish conqueror in 754 and passed back and forth between the popes and the archbishops of Ravenna, was briefly a communal republic (1183–1198). It was then long contested between popes and Holy Roman Emperors. The brief rule by the Forlivese Ordelaffi was crushed in 1357 by Papal troops led by Cardinal Gil de Albornoz, after a long siege heroically endured by Cia degli Ordelaffi, wife of the Lord of Forlì.