Situation and importance
Faenza lies in the Po plain between Bologna and Rimini - about 45km/28mi southeast of Bologna and 55km/34mi northwest of Rimini.
Faenza is famous for the faience (majolica) which is named after the town. The great age of this
ware was in the 15th and 16th century, and it is only in recent years that the craft has again been practiced and deliberately promoted. There are now at least 60 ceramic workshops in the town.
The town, still surrounded by its old town walls, suffered severe war damage, but this has been almost completely made good. The main street is the Corso Giuseppe Mazzini, at the east end of which are two elongated squares joining one another at right angles - the Piazza della Libertà to the north and the Piazza del Popolo to the south. In the Piazza della Libertà are the Torre dell'Orologio (Clock-Tower) and a beautiful fountain of 1621.