Scopri Piobbico - Montefeltro Living

PIOBBICO

DESCRIPTION

Piobbico is a small town in the Marche with about 2000 people. It is situated in the valley of Metauro, between two mountains: the Nerone (1526 m) and the Montiego (975) at the confluence of two rivers: the Biscubio and the Candigliano, which merge in the town centre. The history of Piobbico is closely linked to that of the noble family of Brancaleoni. Nowadays it is still possible to visit their impressive mansion, i.e. Brancaleoni Palace. Around the year 1000 this area was given as feud to this family, and for about five centuries the town was dominated by them. In this period castle, village below, churches, the old part of the town and surrounding villages were created. When feudalism was abolished they became part of the Municipality of Piobbico. Starting from the beginning of the twelfth century Piobbico had been a Brancaleoni lordship. They ruled the entire Massa Trabaria, but after taking position against the Cardinal Albornoz and later the Pope Martino V, they lost their property, which was obtained by the Montefeltro in the half of the fifteenth century. In 1827 thanks to the decree of Pope Leone XII Piobbico became independent.

MONUMENTS - ARTWORKS - TOWNS AND VILLAGES

BRANCALEONI CASTLE

It is an impressive Medieval – Renaissance building that consists of 130 rooms and Gothic entrance, which is surmounted by a cloth tower characterized by particular anticlockwise trend. After entering it there is the public square, where it is possible to walk through the public street and the open-air corridor in the private housing part, and to visit the octagonal church of “St. Carlo Borromeo”, full of frescos and stuccos. The main courtyard was designed and built by Count Guido Antonio I, captain of Duke “Federico da Montefeltro”. In the southern wall of the courtyard there is the coat of arms of Duke of Urbino, which was given to the Brancaleoni by Federico himself. This rectangular courtyard is surrounded by a arched portico with Doric columns. It reminds courtyards of Urbino Palace, which is bigger and more impressive. Within Brancaleoni castle there is the Municipal Museum, which is composed of two parts: the naturalistic part (Geo-paleontological, speleological and Ornithological) and the anthropological part. Geo-paleontological section contains ten thousand fossils belonging to Nerone Mountain Group and ten exhibitions rooms. At last, within this section there is a reproduction of  Nerone Mountain and its geological, naturalistic and morphological features.  Speleological section is composed of two rooms. One room contains descriptions about popular caves of Nerone Mountain (Tassare cave, Nerone cave and Cinque Laghi Cave). In the other room there are images and text about speleological hypothesis concerning wildlife study of caves.  It is very interesting to visit also the Church of “Santa Maria in Val d’Abisso”, the Church of “Santo Stefano” and the Church of “San Pietro”. 

NATURE AND LANDSCAPE

Thanks to its position, greenery, woods, the two rivers joining in the centre of the town, Piobbico is characterized by a mild climate and fresh air even during warm months. For this reason, Piobbico is  one of the favorite places of the Umbria-Marche Apennines, especially in summer. Besides, tourists can choose among different activities, such as trekking, horseback riding, canoeing, fishing, tennis and other sports in contact with nature. In addition, Nerone Mountain in winter becomes a tourist attraction for those who like to ski, because it is equipped with ski resorts.