Roman Catholic Diocese of Cervia
The diocese of Cervia was a Roman Catholic diocese in Emilia-Romagna. The diocese was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Ravenna. In 1947 it merged with the archdiocese of Ravenna to form the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia. History Cervia is a city in the province of Ravenna, Italy, on the ancient Via Flaminia 26.0 km (16.2 mi) south-southeast of Ravenna, in a marshy district near the Adriatic Sea. The town and the diocese were originally called Ficocle (or FIcoclia). In the middle of the 4th century the name was changed to Cervia, though the bishops regularly continued to use the old name. The diocese was a suffragan of Ravenna, according to a document of Pope Gregory I (590–604) now regarded as spurious. It was actually directly subject to the papacy. Pope Agapitus II, in October 948, made Cervia a suffragan of Ravenna. That suffragan status was confirmed by Pope Calixtus II on 7 January 1121, in the bull "Etsi Universae". The first known Bishop of Cervia was Gerontius. According to his legend, he was returning with Viticanus, Bishop of Cagli, from the Roman council held in 501 to treat accusations made against Pope Symmachus, when he was assaulted and killed by