Monte di Pietà Palace

At no. 45 Corso Garibaldi is the historic Palazzo del Monte di Pietà, now the headquarters of the Fondazione Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì.

A monument of notable artistic interest, the dark brick building was erected where one of the Orsi palaces had been demolished in 1488, in the area known as the ‘Orsi Plot’.

Building work began in 1549 to a design by an unknown builder and was completed in 1646. The imposing façade shows on the first order nine round arches with terracotta lintels and keystone volutes, interspersed with ten pilasters with sandstone Ionic capitals.

The second order starts from the architrave and is formed by sober openings divided by Corinthian pilasters. On the ground floor is a magnificent fresco depicting a Pietà with Saints Mercuriale and Valeriano attributable to the early 17th century and a large vaulted hall. In the years between 1623 and 1646, the palace was further elevated and finished in the upper area. A bell gable tower was later placed on top of the roof, which is still present today. Further alterations were carried out at the end of the 19th century when it was decided to open a gap in the eastern façade.

In 1931, all the arches of the façade were opened up to use the spaces as shops. During the Second World War, an air-raid shelter was built inside, and after the liberation of Forlì it was the headquarters of the Allied command post in the city.