Emilia-Romagna · Bologna
Imola
Bologna's Romagna twin, a medieval brick centro anchored by the Caterina Sforza-fortified Rocca, with the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (the Imola F1 circuit) wrapping the Santerno river at the southern edge of town.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Imola is on our list
It holds Città dell'Olio.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- By car
- 40 min from Bologna
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 69,403
- J9°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J29°
- J32°
- A31°
- S26°
- O21°
- N14°
- D9°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Imola is two cities sharing a name. The medieval one is a quietly handsome Romagna brick town 35 km southeast of Bologna along the Via Emilia, with the Rocca Sforzesca (remodeled in the 1470s and 1480s, partly under Caterina Sforza, the Tigress of Forlì, and taken by Cesare Borgia in 1499) anchoring the centro. The Palazzo Tozzoni museum, the 11th-century Cattedrale di San Cassiano with its crypt of the city's patron, the Palazzo Sersanti on the central piazza, and the medieval grid of porticoed brick streets all read as a smaller-scale Bologna.
The OTHER Imola is the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari: the 4.9-km F1 circuit on the south bank of the Santerno, built 1953 and named for Enzo Ferrari and his son Dino after Dino's death. It hosted the San Marino Grand Prix from 1981 to 2006 and the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from 2020 to 2025, and is the circuit where Ayrton Senna died in 1994 at the Tamburello corner. A memorial still stands there.
Outside race weekends the circuit is a public park; locals jog the track. The food is Romagna: piadina romagnola (the city is Città dell'Olio, and the local Brisighella Nostrana di Brisighella DOP olive oil is what dresses it), passatelli in brodo, cappelletti, Sangiovese di Romagna from the surrounding hills, and the local nocino walnut liqueur made by every grandmother in the foothills.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 38 min by car.
Rimini (RMI) is about 1 h 17 min away.
By car from the center of Parma 1 h 31 min.
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? Imola is about 32 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bologna airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca Sforzesca
Caterina Sforza's four-towered brick fortress at the centro's edge, taken by Cesare Borgia in 1499. Museum of arms and ceramics inside.
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
The 4.9-km F1 circuit on the Santerno. Senna memorial at Tamburello. Open as a public park outside race weekends: locals jog the track.
Cattedrale di San Cassiano + crypt
11th-c cathedral with the city patron's crypt; the Madonna del Piratello pilgrimage church just outside the walls is a major regional sanctuary.
Piadina + Sangiovese
The Romagna piadina with squacquerone and prosciutto, Sangiovese di Romagna from the surrounding hills, and the local nocino walnut liqueur.
Brisighella oil road
Imola is Città dell'Olio; the Brisighella DOP grove zone is 30 km up the Lamone valley, with the Vena del Gesso geological park alongside it.
From the guides
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.
San DomenicoRistorante
San Domenico carries two Michelin stars, two Gambero Rosso forks (87/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300, among other nods.
SempliceBistrot
Semplice holds two Gambero Rosso tables.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Imola is a city.
- A city of 69,403 people: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 69,403, down 0.4% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,600 to €2,250 per m² to buy, €5.60 to €12.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 87% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Forlì airport (FRL), 37 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 40 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
11% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Morocco, against 9% across Italy. 94 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 225 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 14% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Bologna province ranks 4th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune. The nearest major one is in Forlì, 30 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Bologna, 34 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Bologna, 33 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Bologna, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.35, a meal in a pizzeria €12.93 and a man's haircut €21.06.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 61% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Thermal baths in town: Bollitore del Casetto di Campo in Fondo.
Known for
AUTODROMO + F1 GRAND PRIX
The circuit hosted the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix from 2020 to 2025. Senna memorial at the Tamburello corner.
CATERINA SFORZA'S FORTRESS
The Tigress of Forlì and her husband Girolamo Riario remodeled the Rocca in the early 1480s; it fell to Cesare Borgia in 1499.
CITTÀ DELL'OLIO
Brisighella Nostrana DOP olive oil zone 30 km up the Lamone valley. Piadina romagnola dressed in it is Imola in one bite.
ROMAGNA-VIA-EMILIA TOWN
Quietly handsome brick centro 35 km from Bologna; porticoes, medieval cathedral, the Palazzo Tozzoni museum.
Common questions
- What is Imola known for?
- Bologna's Romagna twin, a medieval brick centro anchored by the Caterina Sforza-fortified Rocca, with the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (the Imola F1 circuit) wrapping the Santerno river at the southern edge of town.
- Where is Imola?
- Imola is a comune in the province of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna, at 47 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Imola?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Forlì (FRL), about 37 min by car.
- Can you get to Imola 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 Imola?
- About 1 h 31 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Imola?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Imola?
- Faenza, Ferrara and Parma.
- How many people live in Imola?
- 69,403 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Imola a good place to live?
- Imola is a city of 69,403 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 87% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
The numbers
- Elevation: 47 m
- Population: 69,403
- Surface area: 205.02 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Imola appears in
- The best cheese towns within two hours of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 2 hourscheese zone6 towns · smallest 1,964 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of ParmaNear Parmahot springswithin 2 hours6 towns · smallest 3,322 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best towns known for what they grow within 45 minutes of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 45 minproduce zone6 towns · smallest 6,569 residents · closest 37 min away
- The best hot-spring towns within two hours of RiminiNear Riminihot springswithin 2 hours7 towns · smallest 1,648 residents · closest 34 min away
- The best towns that eat well within an hour of BolognaNear Bolognawithin 60 mineats well7 towns · smallest 10,939 residents · closest 26 min away
- The best hot spring towns in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnahot springs8 towns · smallest 3,322 residents
Similar
Towns like Imola
What all six share with Imola: in the Po valley · over 10,000 people · near sea level · have a railway station in the comune
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