Imola is often introduced through the roar of its circuit, yet the race track makes more sense after walking the city that surrounds it. The historic centre follows the old Via Emilia, the Santerno River draws the eastern edge of town, and the first hills rise not far beyond the last streets. The Comune di Imola had 69,702 residents on 31 December 2025, according to ISTAT’s provisional annual population balance. This is the population of the whole municipality, not just the compact centre. For a city in metropolitan Bologna, Imola has its own civic and commercial orbit: railway services, a hospital and schools serve the surrounding territory, while industry, trade and agriculture sit alongside the visitor economy.
The place is older than its modern motor-sport fame. Roman Forum Cornelii grew along the Via Emilia, the route that still gives the centre its long, linear shape. A municipal archaeology account describes Roman presence in the area from the third century BC, while the remains excavated beneath the former Dominican complex belong to a more specific domestic story: a wealthy house with mosaic floors from the first century BC. The nickname Domus del Rasoio comes from a bronze-handled razor found in the excavation. It is a tangible fragment of everyday life, not a legend about a mythical founding. The archaeological display is still being prepared, according to the current Museo San Domenico visitor information, so check before making it the reason for a visit.
Follow the Via Emilia through the centre and Imola reveals its historical layers at street level: arcades, civic buildings, small squares and churches rather than a single monumental axis. The route of the Roman decumanus is recalled in the Comune’s account of the old hospital pharmacy on the same road. Market streets and the railway-era city meet here, and the broad avenue remains a practical spine for daily life. At Piazza Matteotti, pause before heading toward the Rocca Sforzesca, whose towers dominate the western side of the centre. It began as a medieval fortification and was reshaped for changing military needs, notably during the Sforza period. The Comune recounts early-sixteenth-century works associated with Leonardo da Vinci’s time in the region, but the fortress is best understood as a structure altered over generations, not as a single architect’s creation.
There is an important practical qualification: the Rocca Sforzesca is currently closed to the public for restoration. The city reported in March 2026 that work was advancing and described 2027 as the expected reopening horizon. The brick walls remain a striking part of the townscape, but visitors should check current notices before planning an interior visit. This is one of the reasons Imola is worth researching before arrival: works are changing the city’s museums, not merely maintaining a static collection of monuments.
Palazzo Tozzoni offers a different way into the past. The former residence preserves the rooms, furniture and domestic arrangements of a local noble family across five centuries; the building took its present palatial form in the eighteenth century and became a house museum open to the public in 1981. Rather than displaying isolated treasures, it lets visitors see how a family used its home, from formal reception rooms to kitchens and private quarters. In April 2026 the Comune announced that works by the Imola art duo Bertozzi & Casoni would become a permanent presence within the palace. The plan was for a new museum installation during 2026, so check whether that project has opened before choosing a date. The municipal announcement describes the intended dialogue between contemporary sculpture and the lived-in historic rooms.
Across the gardens, the Museo San Domenico occupies a former Dominican complex and brings together the city’s art collections and the archaeological work of Giuseppe Scarabelli. The cloisters give the museum a quiet, inward character that contrasts with the open streets outside. Temporary exhibitions and public programmes make it part of Imola’s current cultural life: the municipal museums recorded 35,745 visits to their collections, exhibitions and activities in 2024, despite the Rocca’s closure for most of that year. The museum’s own page is the safest place to check its current displays and opening schedule, especially because the Domus del Rasoio is being prepared as a new exhibition area. Palazzo Tozzoni and San Domenico can make a rewarding half-day for visitors interested in the city’s domestic, artistic and archaeological histories.
Then there is the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. Its foundation stone was laid in 1950 and the circuit opened in 1953, beside the Santerno and the park of the Acque Minerali. It has hosted motorcycle, endurance and Formula racing, and for many residents it is also a workplace and a recurring source of music, events and visitors. The track is not automatically open on an ordinary day: the operator advertises guided visits by bus or on foot, plus other experiences, with booking and access depending on its calendar. Check the official circuit tours before travelling. In the Acque Minerali park, the memorial to Ayrton Senna invites a more reflective stop. Imola commemorates both Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, who died during the 1994 Grand Prix weekend; this is a place of public remembrance, not just a photo opportunity at a famous bend.
Beyond the track, the same green area links sport, trees and the river landscape. The historic Acque Minerali park was laid out in the nineteenth century around sulphurous springs and later became a public garden; the water treatment ceased in 1988. More recently, the city has been restoring riverside paths and planting new trees while carrying out flood-risk works along the Santerno. The Comune’s 2026 update describes a public space being reshaped both for safety and for everyday access to the river. After heavy rain or an official alert, follow local instructions and do not assume every bank-side path is open.
For a longer day outdoors, take the Ciclovia del Santerno. The municipal route description maps a 44-kilometre line from Mordano to Castel del Rio, passing through Imola, Casalfiumanese, Borgo Tossignano and Fontanelice. It connects river woods, farmland and the gypsum landscape of the Vena del Gesso. The municipality describes the western part toward Borgo Tossignano as relatively easy, while the upper valley becomes steeper; two fords are not suitable for every traveller, including some families with small children and visitors with limited mobility. The route can be walked or ridden, but check the current surface, water conditions and alternatives before setting out. Imola’s station connects with the cycle route by a signed path through the centre, so a car is not essential for a short section.
Imola’s economy is broader than tourism. A municipal business profile identifies commerce, services to businesses and industry among the largest local business groups, with construction, agriculture, personal services, health and hospitality also represented. The surrounding plain supports agriculture and food businesses, while the Santerno corridor leads toward smaller towns and the first Apennine slopes. The annual Baccanale festival makes food culture visible rather than treating it as decoration: the event began in 1985 and brings restaurants, producers, talks and public venues into a city-wide programme. The Comune has announced the 2026 edition for 24 October to 15 November under the theme “Incontri”; check the current programme and booking details. For a meal outside the festival, ask what is seasonal and local instead of assuming that every dish marketed as Emilian is specific to Imola.
Getting there is straightforward. Imola has a station on the Bologna–Ravenna/Ancona rail corridor, and the Comune lists an A14 motorway exit as the road approach. From the station, the historic centre is about 700 metres on foot; the Autodromo’s main entrance is roughly 1.6 kilometres away. The bus station, taxi rank, bike-sharing and intercity car-sharing give visitors options for reaching outlying areas. Trains and special-event traffic change with the date, so check the live RFI departure board and the municipality’s mobility page before travelling.
A first visit can start at the station, follow the Via Emilia into the old centre, pause at Piazza Matteotti and continue to San Domenico and Palazzo Tozzoni. If the Rocca remains closed, its exterior still helps explain Imola’s medieval and Renaissance shape. A second outing can combine the Acque Minerali park with an official circuit tour, or follow a manageable section of the Santerno cycle route toward the valley. Imola rewards visitors who give it more than a Grand Prix afternoon: it is a Roman road town, a working service centre, a place of layered museums and a gateway from the Emilia plain into the Santerno hills. Confirm museum openings, restoration access, circuit tours, river conditions and transport schedules before fixing the itinerary.