CESENA (anc. CAESENA), a town and episcopal see of Emilia, Italy, province of Forli, 12m. S.E. by rail from the town of Forli, on the line between Bologna and Rimini, 144f t. above sea-level. Pop. (1921) 15,943 (town) ; (commune). The town is at the foot of the Apennines, and is crowned by a mediaeval fortress (Rocca) . The fine early Renaissance library was built for Domenico Malatesta in 1452 by Matteo Nuti, and its internal arrangements, with the original desks to which the books are still chained, are well preserved. It also contains a picture gal lery. There are some fine palaces in the town. On the hill to the south-east the handsome church of S. Maria del Monte, after the style of Bramante, has carved stalls of the 16th century. The ancient Caesena was a station on the Via Aemilia and a fortress in the wars of Theodoric and Narses. In 1357 it was unsuccess fully defended by the wife of Francesco Ordelaffi, lord of Forli, against the papal troops under Albornoz. In 1377 it was sacked by Cardinal Robert of Geneva (afterwards Clement VII., anti pope). It was then held by the Malatesta of Rimini until 1465, when it came under the dominion of the Church. Both Pius VI. (1717) and Pius VII. (1742) were born at Cesena.