FAENZA, a city and episcopal see of Emilia, Italy (anc. Faventia), province of Ravenna, 31 m. S.W. from the town of Ravenna by rail, 110 ft. above sea-level. It is 31 m. S.E. of Bologna by rail, on the line from Bologna to Rimini, and it is the junction of a line to Florence through the Apennines. Pop. (1931) (town), 47,260 (commune). The town still preserves traces of the Roman rectangular plan, and is surrounded by walls which date from 1456. The cathedral of S. Pietro stands in the centre of the town. It was begun in 1474 by Giuliano da Maiano; the façade is, however, incomplete. In the interior is the beau tiful early Renaissance tomb of S. Savinus with reliefs showing scenes from his life, by Benedetto da Maiano. Opposite the cathedral is a fountain with bronze ornamentation (1621). The municipal buildings have been restored; the picturesque arcades of the Palazzo del Comune date from the 15th century and those of the Palazzo del Podesta from the 18th. The municipal art gallery contains fine specimens of majolica, a variety of which, faience, takes its name from the town. It was largely manufactured in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the industry has been revived in modern times with success. See CERAMICS. There is an interna tional museum here of ceramics with specimens of every date and country. The name Faventia is clearly Roman. The town lay on the Via Aemilia : here Papirius Carbo and C. Norbanus were defeated by Q. Caecilius Metellus Pius in 82 B.C. Pliny speaks of the whiteness of its linen, and the productiveness of its vines is mentioned. In 740 it was taken by Liutprand. Desiderius gave it to the church with the duchy of Ferrara. It was a free city at the beginning of the 12th century and at first took the imperial side, but in 124o it stood a long siege from Frederick II. and was taken only after eight months. In 1313 the Manfredi made themselves masters of the place and remained in power until 15o1, when the town was taken by Caesar Borgia.