24c. Forlimpopoli – Fratta Terme

It is a short stage that starts from the Via Emilia and goes up towards Bertinoro, from where you can admire the plain and the sea. Then it continues towards Fratta Terme. From there you can go further, towards Meldola on the route of Stage 25 Forlì-Cusercoli.

In Forlimpopoli the fortress and the historic center are worth a visit. But also the Hotel Institute where you can have lunch and taste Pellegrino Artusi’s best recipes. Leaving Forlimpopoli, take the SP 37 to Via Ausa Vecchia. Then you go up towards the center of Bertinoro. Here you should visit the square on which the Town Hall stands; next to it there is the Column of Hospitality, a distinctive sign of a community ready to welcome those arriving from far away. The square is also a terrace overlooking the plain and the Adriatic coast, where you can glimpse the skyscrapers of Cervia, Cesenatico and the coast up to the Po. Above, the Rocca dominates, now a University Center and home to the Interreligious Museum. To go to Fratta Terme you take Via dei Santi and the ancient city gate. Through roads in the hilly countryside, partly asphalted, partly graveled and dirt, you reach Fratta Terme. Here you meet again the main route of the Via Romea passing by the headquarters of the Civil Protection, an information point also for the Via Romea.