BERTINORO, Diocese of. – In Romagna, in the province of Forlì, a suffragane of Ravenna. It is identified with the ancient *Cestubium* or *Sussubium*, mentioned in the donations of Pepin to the Church (*Liber Pontificalis*, ed. L. Duchesne, I, Paris 1886, p. 454). Cavalcante, lord of *Brettanorium* (*Sussubium*), restored it to Pope Alexander III in 1177 (*op. cit.*, II, 1892, p. 441). It was erected as a diocese in 1360 when, after the destruction of Forlimpopoli by Cardinal Albornoz, Bishop Roberto Boyssel transferred his see there permanently, assuming the title of the new residence. The church of *Forum Popilii*, however, is of more ancient origin. The successor of Roberto (d. 1365) was Roberto de Bretteville (1365–78), who established the parish of St Catherine as the cathedral, followed by Tebaldo Pellisier (1378–95), to whom Urban VI entrusted the temporal jurisdiction of B. and Cesena. Later, Giovanni Ruffo Theodoli (1505–12), cardinal and nuncio of Leo X to Charles V; Andrea Caligari (1579–1613), who enriched the cathedral; Giambattista Missiroli (1701–34), who built the seminary.
The diocese was suppressed in 1803, re-established in 1817, and in 1824 united by Leo XII to Sarsina until 1853. The bishops of B. continued to administer the diocese of Sarsina until 1872 and often held it *in persona episcopi*. At present the diocese comprises 64 parishes, 5 Marian shrines (Lago, Susia, Fornò, Carminate, Madonna di Fuori), 87 diocesan priests and 4 regulars, serving 50,000 inhabitants over 307 km² (1948).
Among the monastic foundations in the territory of B., noteworthy are: St Ruffillo, a Benedictine abbey at Forlimpopoli, which Abbot Benedetto placed under the protection of the Apostolic See in 1181. It was given in commendam to the bishop of B. and in 1364 annexed by Pius IV to the chapter of St Peter’s in the Vatican. In the 18th century a long dispute arose between the bishop of B. and the *nullius* of Forlimpopoli. In 1847 Pius IX suppressed the *nullius*, assigning Forlimpopoli to the diocese of B. and Meldola to the diocese of Forlì. In 1867 the collegiate church of the Canons of St Ruffillo also disappeared (L. Ricci, *S. Ruffillo di Forlimpopoli*, Forlì 1914).
On the hill of B. stood the Benedictine abbey of St Mary in Urano, which passed in the 12th century to the Camaldolese, who made it a centre of learning; in 1431 Ambrose Traversari (q.v.) was elected its general prior. Destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt in a more pleasant site in 1576. In its church repose the relics of SS Maglorius, Samson and Pascasius (A. Pasini, *B. e i suoi santi protettori*, Forlì 1932). Suppressed during the Napoleonic period, the complex was preserved by the Counts Manzoni of Forlì. The bombings of 1944 destroyed the monastery (since 1898 the mother house of the Clarisses of the Blessed Sacrament, known as the Sisters of B.) and damaged the church, which contained paintings by Cignani.
In 1228 Egidio, bishop of Forlimpopoli, entrusted to the Camaldolese of Urano a chapel at a place called Lago, where an ancient image of the Blessed Virgin was venerated. In 1262 it was transformed into a church, known as the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lago (consecrated by the Vatican Chapter in 1704), the principal patroness of the city and diocese of B. (L. Gatti, *La Madonna del Lago*, Forlì 1902).
In the territory of B. is also the abbey of Fornò, with a round church containing a venerated image of the Blessed Virgin, donated in the 15th century by a converted corsair, Peter of Durazzo. It later passed to the Canons Regular of Porto in Ravenna. In the 18th century it declined; Napoleon despoiled it, and Pius IX in 1857 saved it from total ruin (cf. P. Naddiani, *L'abbazia di S. Maria delle Grazie di F.*, Rome 1910).
Bordering on B. was also the Benedictine abbey of St Hilary at Galeata (St Ellero), where Pope Stephen II was hosted on his return from France in 754. Suppressed in 1784, it was transferred to the diocese of Borgo San Sepolcro (D. Mambrini, *Galeata nella storia e nell'arte*, Bagno di Romagna 1936).
Monuments. – The cathedral, dedicated to St Catherine of Alexandria, patroness of the city, is a three-aisled structure of the late 17th century (P. Amaducci, *Ecclesia S. Catharinae de platea*, Bertinoro 1934). The exterior, in Doric style, is entirely of brick.