Things to Do in Forli, Italy - Forli Attractions
Things to Do in Forli
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Food & Drinkfromper adult$160
Food & Drinkfromper adult$160
Craft Classesfromper adult$77
Food & Drinkfromper adult$120
Historical Toursfromper adult$31
Historical Toursfromper group (up to 6)$286
Historical Toursfromper group (up to 15)$188
Historical Toursfromper adult (price varies by group size)$329
Food & Drinkfromper adult (price varies by group size)$109- fromper group (up to 10)$308
Other Top Attractions around Forli
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What travelers are saying
- John B11 contributionsI wish to write some very important details here so that future visitors can best prepare in advance... Firstly, Mussolini's grave and his family final resting places are NOT at the Villa Carpena. Those are in a totally different places tens of miles away at the Predappio cemetary in the Mussolini Family Crypt. And I am writing this because often times the two are confused. And I think the owners of Villa Carpena also purposely serve the confusion by posting the Mussolini Crypt pics also under the Villa Carpena. No, no, no and no... The two locations are like 20 miles apart and impossible to reach without a car or by bus which is not so easy to reach.
And this brings us to another point.
There are NO BUSES taking you directly to the Villa Carpena. NO TRAINS. Nothing. Your best bet is to come with a rent-a-car or combine very long walk with an obscure local bus stop like 20 minutes away...
Which brings us to another point - as odd as this may sound to you - the Villa Carpena covera a pretty large piece of land that was once upon a time purely agricultural and was then, over the many decades, turned into a private ranch/hacienda or "a village inside a village" if you will. Gated of course. Surrounded by high walls etc.
The truth be told, it is in the middle of nowhere! Yep. Once you are inside the gates of the property it does look super and it has endless details kind of like a huge private ranch. But outside the property it is still nothing.. Agricultural land lots of it left to itself, and the other houses in the rest of the village are a bit further away from Villa Carpena and most of those look pretty bad.
There is a feeling of this village being left for dead.. for the obvious reasons...
So just keep in mind, the entire wider area around the Villa Carpena (any direction you choose) looks pretty poor, unkept, a bit shady too etc. So don't expect a "Village of the dictator" type hype because there is none. It actually all looks almost impossible that Villa Carpena would be there in the first place...
Okay. And finally when you get to the entrance gate - it will be closed shut. You will need to ring a bell for the owners to open it for you - which on the other hand is kinda cool because it adds this private, intimate, family atmosphere. You are basically talking one on one with the current owners / tour guides and they are basically just two people. The husband and wife Morosini who also take care of the property and animals themselves and run the whole thing.
Once you are inside THE PROPERTY (the ranch, not the Villa itself) be prepared that there is a ton of details worrh seeing and checking out in the garden. So I would recommend you set aside a minimum of 90 minutes just to walk around the garden and see all there is to see in the garden (*remember we are now inside the property but still outside the building itself).
So definitely have 60-90 minutes just for the outside area to inspect in peace..
Cool. And now the main part - entering the villa itself, usually (almost as a rule) you will be accompanied by one of the owners who will guide you and other visitors as a group through the house.
The building is HUGE and full of details. And your guide will likely go into greatest detail about everything... So you must set aside at least an additional 90 minutes minimum for the inside of the Villa Carpena, too.
Let me just say, once you enter "the ranch" it will suck you in and you will forget about the village and the area outside from which you entered.
And once you have stepped into the house itself, you are stepping into the world of Benito M big time and you may even forget that you are in Italy... It is almost like - the house IS Italy, and the country of Italy is just a supplemment to the house... Odd feeling.. Very unique very special.. You feel power and authority every step of the way.
He really was charismatic. For the house itself is full of charisma too and you truly feel that you are IN THE RULLING SEAT OF ITALY by being inside the house (and that everything else outside the house, and the ranch, don't matter).
Which brings us to yet another point, this entire property is huge, yes, and it does have everything a large family of the duce might ever need or ask for, yes - but also one could say the whole thing is one enormous glorified prison. A prison for the wealthy and powerful.
For, I think no one from the family ever left this place without being driven out or back by the official protection and secret police.
Kind of like the enormous family ranch and property of Michele Corleone that can be seen in the Godfather movies. Very similar in fact.
Ok. And to not uncover every detail to you let us just end with this - the first two levels are the Mussolini family home and office etc private areas (to say this is interesting to see is to underestimate it.. this is HYPER interesting to see) but the final top level of the Villa is an area that was not originally used in the way it is being used today. Today the current owners turned the top level of ths house into a Center for the studies of etc etc with about 10 000 original books printed during the time of Italian and German fascism. So the top level looks like some kind of fascist party HQ although this is really all private property and basically closed to the public or "at owners own private discretion only" so you can't blame them. If they have decorated it this way - it is still inside their house, their own four walls figuratively speaking. So one could understand that rights are more flexible to use fascist publications and decorations so freely... You as a visitor are basically a private personal guest to the owners private house. Rather than just a faceless guest at some public museum...
And the admission fee is actually very cheap for this kind of honor. 15 euro is nothing for the privileges you are getting here. I truly believe they should charge on the other side of 100 euro per person for a thing like this.
One final thing (remember, you are in someone's private house, on private property) DO NOT EXPECT OBJECTIVITY HERE.
Yes the owners are in love with Benito and his persona. Yes they are his huge fans. And yes they have basically sold everything they ever possessed in order to be able to purchase this thing and turn it into what it is today.
So... if you really want to come here and visit because you love history, but have zero tolerance hearing "all the good things Mussolini did" I would kindly advise you not to go because you will be sticking out here like a sore thumb.
This whole thing, the whole story, the whole "idea behind the project" is.. you guessed it!
Ultimately, if you are sure this is for you - then I would say that you absolutely must combine your visit to Villa Carpena with also a visit to M's house of birth in the city of Predappio, as well as his family crypt also in the city of Predappio.
Forli is the third destination that you should see.
But Villa Carpena and Predappio (the two are about 20 miles apart) are A MUST SEE!
In other words, visiting Predappio but not stopping at Villa Carpena - and you havent seen nothing!
Stopping at Villa Carpena but not visiting Predappio - you got it about 75% covered by your visit is not complete!
So just do both. And Forli could be like an additional extra point.
In order of importance:
1. Villa Carpena
2. Predappio
3. Forli
Best time to visit: June or September
*Final note, also another thing most outsiders will not be aware of: the Mussolini Crypt in Predappio was SHUT CLOSED for ages and ages... until about four years ago.
Yep. You could come near it but could not see the inside. M's grandaughter would not have it unlocked while the leftist government is in power in Predappio (and it was in power for like 40 years or so).
Only four years ago that changed and the crypt was possible to enter for free.
FUN FACT as I am writing this on June 5th 2024, there are local elections scheduled for next weekend. If the left wins - chances are the crypt will be shut down again and you won't be able to enter so please check before visiting.
Estimated time needed for your visit to Villa Carpena (to do it properly) 4 hours.
Estimated time that you need to properly see all there is to see in Predappio - no more than 4 hours, but likely you can do it all in less than two hours there.
Estimated time to visit Forli - it is not neccessary to visit Forli at all. Yes, many books say "the City of the Duce" for Forli, but no - I would call Predappio that way. Forli is more like checking out the architecture of the time etc but your focus should primarily be on Villa Carpena and Preddapio 👍Written June 5, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - KestasKSVilnius, Lithuania3,609 contributionsQuite large exhibition, hence, plan accordingly and take your time. Museum itself is well organized, good audioguide in EN/IT.Written March 2, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Alessia SForli, Italy34 contributionsSo nice to have such a big green area in town. Bars and restaurants inside are also good. You can walk in there for hours.Written July 10, 2018This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- 545medvaBudapest, Hungary3,905 contributionsIt is a very old church, unfortunately,when we were there the facade of the hotel was covered due to maintenance work. However it there are very nice paintings from the 15.-16 century, and the atmosphere is quit good.Written September 5, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- 545medvaBudapest, Hungary3,905 contributionsThis is in the middle of the city. All around you feel the history with wonderful buildings - Abbey, City Hall, Post building and other palaces. Clean, wide and good caffés on the square.Written September 5, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- RosySpello, Italy22 contributionsAlthough the visit had a serious background, we could see a bit of the city.
Fantastic!
Wonderful city, wonderful people,
wonderful company :-)
Another perfect day with you <3
Thank you from the bottom of my heartWritten May 23, 2020This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - 545medvaBudapest, Hungary3,905 contributionsIt is a very big church with a lot of art work. The atmosphere is really very good. You can sit in a calm enviroment and just wonder.Written September 5, 2019This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- debbie w4 contributionsThe Rocca is now open for visitors every weekend with no charge. It opened in the 13th of April 2024. You can see the grounds and go inside for a short tour of the walls and parts of the inside. So far the tour is only in Italian. Having lived close by for many years this is the first time the castle has been open for generations so worth a visit if you are in Forli.Written April 14, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- GibBobBlandford Forum, UK413 contributionsWe were taken here on an afternoon trip by friends, I wasn't expecting much but how wrong can you be? An elegant location and family run, where we had the pleasure of being guided by the owner before being invited to a tasting, accompanied by excellent spuntini. We were offered some new and interesting combinations of grape but for me the best will always be their Sangiovese. This is a must if you have a couple of hours to spare. Remember to take your wallet as the shop is full of temptations.Written June 19, 2017This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
