Emilia-Romagna · Ravenna
Faenza
The city that gave its name to faïence, with a tin-glazed maiolica tradition since the fourteenth century and the world ceramics museum since 1908.
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 49 min from Bologna
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 58,710
Known for
FAÏENCE
Tin-glazed maiolica that gave its name to the French and English word faïence, produced here continuously since the late fourteenth century.
MIC
Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, the world's largest ceramics museum, named by UNESCO a Monument Witness to a Culture of Peace in 2000.
PALIO DEL NIBALLO
Equestrian competition between the five city rioni, run every June on Piazza Nenni in costumes recalling the fifteenth century.
PROTECTED PRODUCTS
The commune lies inside the Romagna Albana DOCG, Brisighella DOP, Pesca e Nettarina di Romagna IGP and Scalogno di Romagna IGP production zones.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- J9°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Beata Vergine delle Grazie, Saturday preceding the second Sunday of May
Why come
Faenza sits on the Via Emilia between Bologna and Rimini, on the Lamone river fifty kilometers southeast of Bologna. The city gave its name to faïence: tin-glazed earthenware that emerged here in the late fourteenth century and reached its peak in the early sixteenth, when the bianchi di Faenza, white-on-white ceramics exported across Europe, set the standard for Renaissance maiolica. The Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, founded in 1908 by Gaetano Ballardini, holds 15,000 square meters of collections from 4000 BC to the present, with rooms dedicated to Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Léger, Dalí, Burri, and Fontana.
UNESCO named it a Monument Witness to a Culture of Peace in 2000. The Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo, begun by Giuliano da Maiano in 1474, dominates Piazza della Libertà; Piazza del Popolo next door holds the medieval Palazzo del Podestà and the municipal palace. The Palio del Niballo, an equestrian competition between the five city rioni, runs every June.
The Sunday letter
Faenza is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Faenza comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Faenza in our articles
The best towns that eat well within an hour of Bologna7 towns, Faenza among them.
The best wine towns within 75 minutes of Rimini7 towns, Faenza among them.
The best olive oil towns within two hours of Parma9 towns, Faenza among them.
The best towns known for what they grow within an hour of Rimini9 towns, Faenza among them.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 47 minutes by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1h 10m away.
By car from the centre of Parma 1h 41m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bologna, Florence or Verona?
Coming by train into Forlì? Faenza is about 25 minutes away by road.
What to see
Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche
Founded in 1908 by Gaetano Ballardini, 15,000 square meters spanning 4000 BC to contemporary work by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, and Fontana.
Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo
Renaissance cathedral begun by Giuliano da Maiano in 1474, completed by 1515, with sculptures by Benedetto da Maiano in the nave.
Piazza del Popolo
Twin medieval square to Piazza della Libertà, framed by the Palazzo del Podestà and the porticos of the municipal palace.
Piazza della Libertà
Cathedral square with the seventeenth-century fountain by Domenico Paganelli at its center, opposite the cathedral façade.
Palazzo Milzetti
Neoclassical palace begun in 1794, frescoed by Felice Giani, now the Museo Nazionale dell'Età Neoclassica in Romagna.
Teatro Masini
Late-eighteenth-century theater designed by Giuseppe Pistocchi, with a hand-painted curtain and a horseshoe auditorium of four tiers.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Faenza fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Living here
- Population 58,710
- A local hubi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bologna, 47 min drive
- Regional capital Bologna, 49 min drive
Common questions
- What is Faenza known for?
- Faenza is the city that gave its name to faïence, with a tin-glazed maiolica tradition since the fourteenth century and the world ceramics museum since 1908.
- Where is Faenza?
- Faenza is a comune in the province of Ravenna, in Emilia-Romagna, at 34 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Faenza?
- Bologna (BLQ), about 47 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Faenza without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Parma to Faenza?
- About 1h 41m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Faenza?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Faenza?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Beata Vergine delle Grazie, Saturday preceding the second Sunday of May.
- Which other towns are like Faenza?
- Imola, Ferrara and Parma.
- How many people live in Faenza?
- 58,710 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 34 m
- Population: 58,710
- Surface area: 215.76 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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