HISTORY AND CULTURE
Stories to discover... a journey back in time
HISTORY AND CULTURE
Lands of castles and fortresses, enchanted places where the signs of art and culture are in an ongoing dialogue with the landscape.
The Marecchia and Conca Valleys are the lands between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance which were disputed by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, and Federico da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino.
The fortresses, the parish churches, the towers, and fortified villages which can be found at every turn are historic and artistic testimonies of a rich and turbulent past.
But these lands have been the destination and residence of illustrious and famous men, from Dante to San Francesco, from Cagliostro to Ezra Pound, from Leonardo (Renaissance views) to Piero Della Francesca (Piero’s balconies) to arrive at Arnaldo Pomodoro, Federico Fellini, and Tonino Guerra.
The millennium presence of man in these valleys carries with it a special story where the signs of art and culture are in an on-going dialogue with the landscape, places in which the residents know each other and visitors can immerse themselves in a search for beauty–recognizable also thanks to the quality trademarks ‘Borghi più belli d’Italia’ and ‘Bandiera Arancione del TCI’–creativity and craftsmanship.
CASTLES AND FORTRESSES
Two valleys, a great story
The long and violent feud which saw as protagonists the houses of the Malatesta and Montefeltro families left an indelible mark on the two valleys.
In a luxuriant and thriving nature fortresses with a timeless charm are immersed, majestic castles and fortified villages that reveal the uproar of those years in all its nuances.
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- 10 Malatesta's castles
- The Fort of San Leo and Count Cagliostro
- Castles on the hills: Montefiore Conca> Saludecio> Mondaino> Montegridolfo
- Malatesta's Castle of Coriano
- Montebello's Castle and the legend of Azzurrina
- Malatesta's Castle of Santarcangelo
- Rocca Fregoso, the fairytale castle
- Malatesta's fortress of Verucchio
THE THEATRICAL NETWORKS IN
VALCONCA AND VALMARECCHIA
Theatres
The valleys safeguard historical theaters that have become active in networks and transformed into important cultural structures. Each ‘knot’ of the ‘network’, has its own precise identity that characterise it by typology artistic-cultural, public, and performances.
Museums
The rich offer of museums in the two valleys
The two valleys boast a massive presence of museums. Numbers made more interesting by the different themes treated in the museum halls dislocated over the entire territory.
From Villanovan civilization to Romanesque traces, from mining to mathematics, from farming culture to the visions of Tonino Guerra, passing through history, nature, and ethnographic traditions.
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- Villanovan Archaeological Museum of Verucchio
- Sulfur mining history museum and Sulfur Park of Perticara
- Santarcangelo Museums: MET Ethnographic Museum of the Uses and Customs of the People of Romagna and MUSAS Historical Archaeological Museum, Museum of the Button, Permanent Museum in the World of Tonino Guerra
- Sandro Colarieti house museum in Casteldelci
- Mondaino Museums: Permanent exhibition of majolica, Paleontological Museum, Portaia Tower
- Saludecio and Beato Amato Museum
- Pennabilli Museums: The Places of the Soul Museum, Tonino Guerra Foundation Association, Mateureka, Musss Sasso Simone and Simoncello Naturalistic Museum, Montefeltro Museum
- Elizabethan Museum of Coriano
- Museum of the Line of the Goths of Montegridolfo
- Montescudo-Montecolombo Museums: Museum of the Eastern Gothic Line - Church of Peace, Ethnographic Museum
- Poggio Torriana Museums: Diffused Museum, Sapignoli Museum / Mill, Natè Naturalistic and Weaving Museum / Observatory, Honey Museum, Open-air Museum of the Quarry
- Museum of rural arts of Sant'Agata Feltria
- Gualtieri Picture Gallery Museum
FROM COUNTRY TRADITIONS TO CULTURAL, THEATRICAL AND MUSICAL EVENTS
FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
The great cultural ferment that historically characterizes these lands has encouraged the birth and proliferation of important festivals and events. Among the many, we mention “Santarcangelo Festival”, which for more than 50 years has brought to the territory the most innovative and revolutionary international theatrical creations, or the Performing Arts Festival “Artisti in Piazza”, which for almost thirty years has hosted street artists from all over the world, transforming the small medieval village of Pennabilli into an open-air theater, or the “Verucchio Music Festival” with its quality music in the beautiful setting of the Churchyard. There is also the “800 Festival” in Saludecio or the “Palio del Daino” in Mondaino, historical re-enactments and tributes to ancient traditions. Many others initiatives are related to rural and religious traditions.
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- The Santarcangelo Festival
- The Pennabilli ‘Artisti in Piazza’ Festival
- The Verucchio Festival
- The San Leo Festival
- Palio del Daino in Mondaino
- National Antiques Market Exhibition in Pennabilli
- The Witch Festival in San Giovanni in Marignano
- San Gregorio's fair in Morciano di Romagna
- Simply Photograph LIVE
- Novafeltria Carnival
- Montefeltro Festival
- 800 Festival and Saluserbe in Saludecio
- San Leo Festival
- AlchimiaAlchimie
Local craftsmanship
Traditions from father to son
Travelling along the Marecchia and Conca valleys, it’s easy to come across small artisan stores where ancient craftsmen continue to offer objects of great value and quality. It’s precious to see skilled hands that continue to pass on the art from father to son, from generation to generation. Here it’s possible to find the stone pans in which “piada” was cooked or the hand-printed ctextiles used as tablecloths, tea towels in the kitchens of the Romagna “Azdore”. From the capacious wicker baskets once used to the transport to the ancient brooms and broomsticks made of sorghum. And more: straw baskets woven and decorated by hand for bread, terracotta pots, ceramic bowls, plates and cups, frames and wooden cutting boards, mosaics and many wrought iron objects.
