Town of Lower Romagna area, located in the province of Ravenna at just 20 km from the Adriatic coast, Massa Lombarda is surrounded by large fruit cultivations. All started with a small agricultural conglomerate built on the edge of the forest of Lugo in the VIII century A.D. and flourished in 1251, when the territory of Massa Lombarda gave asylum to several farm workers and their families from the territories of Mantua, that sheltered here because of the harassment perpetrated by landowners premises. The town, therefore, changed its name from Massa San Paolo to Massa dei Lombardi. In 1440 Pope Nicholas III ceded the fief to the Este family and therefore, began a period of great cultural fervor, aided by these far future visionary rulers, with the construction of new civil and religious buildings. Under the government of Francesco d'Este, Massa Lombarda minted its own currency. At the death of the last heir of the Este family, the town returned to the Papal States and remain under their domain until 1859, except for the brief Napoleonic period, when it was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy. The late XIX and early XX centuries were crucial for the city's economy: in fact, the farmers started their first experiments on fruit trees and the cultivation of sugar beet. In 1927 the town was seat of the Second International Exhibition of Fruit.
Sites of Interest:
- the Town Hall, overlooking Piazza Matteotti, built in the XVIII century and designed by Cosimo Morelli;
- the Clock Tower, the architectural symbol of the city, completed by the architect Morelli, after the previous tower was destroyed in a fire;
- the Dean Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, built in the XVI century on the ruins of an existing structure. It features a basilica plan with three aisles, flanked by a square Bell Tower, 38 meters high;
- the XVIII century Church of the Holy Savior, whose external features were assigned to the artist Zaccaria Facchini of Massa, while the interior is designed by Cosimo Morelli;
- the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, built in the XVII century by Carmelite friars, is a splendid example of Baroque architecture. It is currently used as a venue for conferences and exhibitions;
- the Shrine of Our Lady of Trebeghino, also known as Opium, named after the land estate on which it stands and where a farmer found an effigy of the Madonna, that in a short time, became object of veneration;
- the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation and the monumental cemetery, built between 1794 and 1813 under the direction of Zechariah Facchini;
- the Civic Museum "C. Venturini", a permanent exhibition of documents, objects of art and archeology, nature books and artifacts, which once belonged to the doctor, philanthropist and collector Carlo Venturini;
- the Municipal Art Gallery, which exhibits a large and interesting collection of paintings ranging from the XVII to the XX centuries.