other · Italy
Lordship of Forli
Origins
The Ordelaffi family led Forlì's Ghibellines, and in 1315 they became lords of the city. They ruled, sometimes as papal vicars and sometimes in open rebellion, over Forlì and at times Cesena and other Romagna towns.
Rule and society
Scarpetta Ordelaffi hosted the exiled Dante around 1303. Francesco II Ordelaffi resisted Cardinal Albornoz's campaign to restore papal rule for years; his wife Cia degli Ubaldini defended Cesena in 1357 until forced to surrender, and Forlì fell in 1359. The family regained the city in 1376. Forlì lived from farming the Romagna plain and from the condottiere careers of its lords.
Decline and legacy
Pino III Ordelaffi died in 1480, and Pope Sixtus IV granted Forlì to his nephew Girolamo Riario, joining it to the Lordship of Imola and Forli.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Lordship of Forli was a vassal of Papal States1315 CE – 1480 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lordship of Forli. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-forli
- MLA
- “Lordship of Forli.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-forli. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Lordship of Forli.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-forli.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lordship of Forli’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-forli (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻