IL MAF – Museo Archeologico Civico "Tobia Aldini" is set up in the fortress built at the end of the 14th century by Egidio di Albornoz on the ruins of the ancient cathedral of S. Maria di Forlimpopoli and restored a century later by Pino degli Ordelaffi. It was formed from the early thirties of the twentieth century on the collection of archaeological finds and art objects coming from the city’s church buildings and municipal deposits merged and arranged by Andrea Benini in the east wing of the fortress. Disaggregated and improperly transferred during the fifties, in ’61 the materials of the collection returned to their original location just restored. Reorganized during the following decade, the museum itinerary proposes in chronological succession the testimonies connected with the history of the city and the territory between the pre-Roman age and the early Middle Ages. After an initial section dedicated to objects of extra-regional origin, the exhibition itinerary reserves a specific space for prehistory and local protohistory. Interesting are the techno-complexes of the Lower Palaeolithic period, represented by archaic artifacts on pebbles dating back to the earliest phases of human settlement in Emilia Romagna. The backbone of the museum is the large hall dedicated to the ancient Forum Popili built along the Via Emilia, on the left of the Ausa torrent. Here the remains of large mosaic floors and fragments of wall coverings chase each other like stage and stage panels, interspersed with objects, in the showcases that offer a lot of information about the domestic life of the people of Foropopili. The Roman lapidary, in which inscriptions of great testimonial value are gathered, contributes to integrate the documentation on the political and civil life of the city. The route ends with a sampling of polychrome ceramics from the medieval and post-medieval period, recovered after excavations in different areas of the city.
