DESCRIPTION

San Leo is an old village located on a rocky mass,impassable all around, in the Marecchia valley , close to the Republic of San Marino and the Riviera of Romagna ( now in the province of Rimini ). The access is by a single road cut into the rock.

On the highest point of the rock stands the Forte , restored in the fifteenth century by Francesco di Giorgio Martini by order of Federico III da Montefeltro . The ancient city , was the capital of the county of Montefeltro . For long stretches they fought civil wars and military .

With Berengario II the town assumed the title of Capital of Italy ( 962-964 ) . S. Leone (Sec . IV A.D. ) was its evangelizer . The city hosted Dante and St. Francis of Assisi .

Remarkable is the architectural heritage preserved : the pre-Romanesque church , the Romanesque cathedral century Lombard . XII , the Fort , the Museum of Sacred Art recently set up in the Palazzo Medici .

Scattered throughout the municipality the ruins of several castles , including those of Pietracuta and Piega , the Franciscan Monastery of St. Igne , the Dominican monastery of Monte Pietracuta , church Montemaggio with a fine coffered wooden ceiling.

The view from San Leo is one of the most beautiful and characteristic of the region , the view sweeps over the surrounding mountains and the valley of the Marecchia to the sea.

In the combined Italy,the municipality of San Leo is belonged to the Marches (Pesaro and Urbino) until August 15, 2009, when he was posted in conjunction with other six municipalities of the Valmarecchia in implementation of the outcome of a referendum held on 17 and 18 December 2006. Against the territorial change, the Marches, have appealed to the Constitutional Court, but this has deemed unfounded.

 

MONUMENTS - ARTWORKS - TOWNS AND VILLAGES

San Leo is considered one of the most beautiful village of Italy.

In addition to the impressive fortress there are also Ancients Romanesque buildings, Pieve , Cathedral and Tower.To them, are flanked numerous Renaissance buildings , like the Palazzo Medici , with the elegant Museum of Sacred Art , the residence of the Severini – Nardini , the Palazzo Della Rovere now the location of the Town Hall .

The Co-Cathedral of St. Leo , also known as ” the cathedral of San Leo ” , is the main place of worship.The site on which stands the co-cathedral , a lump of rock,was for the worship of the gods since prehistoric times . The construction of the first early medieval cathedral occurred in the seventh century , when the ancient Montefeltro (San Leo) was erected in the civitas , becoming the seat of a diocese.

The remains of the first church are incorporated in the current Romanesque – Lombard . The walls are entirely made ​​of  blocks of sandstone polished , externally of ocher colored and internally of gray iron color. The entire structure has many asymmetrical elements . The entrance is located on a side instead of on the facade , situated on a steep rocky slope.The portal is surmounted by sculpted busts depicting St. Leo and St. Valentine, from the ancient church.

That of San Leo is the oldest depiction of the saint received today.
As most of the buildings of San Leo also the cathedral is groundless because it rests directly on the rock . In it they are also carved two staircases leading to the crypt .

The plant of the church is to Latin cross, with three naves divided by piers and bare columns, supporting arches broken, pointing to the upcoming Gothic style. In the bottom of the nave there are numerous graves, where are buried the members of the ancient noble families of the city. In the presbytery there is the rather large crucifix pendant, donated to the cathedral in 1205 by Count Montefeltrano.

The crypt contains the same architectural features of the church above, with greater homogeneity in the Romanesque style, making it be the oldest part of the complex. The light comes from small windows with double recessed. A special feature is also in being dedicated to St. Peter, suggesting that the crypt itself is the result of the restructuring of a previous temple, perhaps an abbey. Altar is a relic of St. Leo. In the bottom of the crypt, in a niche, is the lid of the sarcophagus of the saint, dating from the fifth century, a typical example of Roman sarcophagus.

The parish church of Santa Maria Assunta is the oldest church building in the city and Montefeltro, representing the first material evidence of the Christianization of the area, operated by San Leone between the third and fourth centuries. According to tradition it was the holy Dalmatian, exercising the profession of stonemason, built the first church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Due to its location, on a rocky protuberance under the aisles are divided into two areas: the crypt and the so-called Shrine of St. Leo. The interior has three naves separated by round arches supported by pillars and columns that alternate. Columns, six in total, constitute elements of Roman epoch or late antique, that belonged to other buildings reused in the parish, as well as for the four Corinthian capitals that overhang. The interior walls were once plastered and covered mostly with frescoes whose traces went deleted with the restoration operated in the thirties.

The Fortress of San Leo, also known as San Leo is situated on top of the rocky spire. A first fortification on top of the mountain was built by the Romans. In the Middle Ages was bitterly fought over by the Byzantines, Goths, Franks and Lombards. Between 961 and 963 there was tight siege Berenger II, last king of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy by Otto I of Saxony.

Around the second half of the eleventh century the counts of Montecopiolo came to “Montefeltro” (ancient name of St. Leo). In the second half of the fourteenth century the Malatesta family managed to storm the fortress, alternating in the domain to Montefeltro until the middle of the fifteenth century. In 1441 the young Federico da Montefeltro was the author of an enterprising climbing on the Forte. To keep pace with the new military techniques he had rebuilt the fortress entrusting the task to the engineer Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The new structure allowed a counter-trend, providing shooting crossed directions.

In 1502 Cesare Borgia, with the support of Pope Alexander VI, he took possession of the fortress. On the death of the pope, in 1503, Guidobaldo da Montefeltro took possession of his domains. In 1516 the Florentine troops, supported this time by Leo X, led by Antonio Ricasoli penetrated into the city and commandeered the Forte.

From that moment until the devolution to the Papal States from the Duchy of Urbino, in 1631, St. Leo belonged to the Della Rovere.With the new ownership, the function of the building went from a prison fortress, whose cells were extracted from the lodgings of the military. Among the inmates who were imprisoned names such as Felice Orsini and adventurer Cagliostro Palermo. In 1906 the fortress ceased the function as a prison. Currently the rooms of the fortress house a museum of weapons and a picture gallery.

NATURE AND LANDSCAPE

The territory of San Leo is characterized by forests of high hills. The forests of this area are represented by oak interspersed with several thermophilic species like the service tree and butcher’s broom. A special note deserve the wild orchids that with the many species present, even on the rock of San Leo, they brighten up the underbrush and meadows.

During the spring and autumn mushrooms of various species make this place a favorite destination for researchers and enthusiasts who love the flavors of the undergrowth.

The rich animal world that from the neighbors borders of the Natural Park of Sasso Simone and Simoncello, in the heart of Montefeltro, through the paths and often even the streets of our towns is discreet and quiet. Reluctant to show if not careful and sensitive look of someone who scrutinizes nature to snatch even the most minute movements.

Nights raids are implemented by raptors such as owls, barn owls and long-eared owl hunting for small rodents; rate and porcupines, foxes, hares and ungulates are part of the usual scene of these landscapes.Diurnal raptors such as buzzards hovering menacingly between small groves and glades comfortable. In the numerous rivers that mark the landscape, trout, snakes collared, newts, spotted salamanders, toads, frogs and tree frogs are a comfortable habitat. Blackbirds, magpies and jays are among the most common birds, and more attention must be devoted reminder of the nuthatch, the woodpecker and the red maggiore.Unfortunately is now passed into history the presence of bears that once lived on these mountains.

Equipped with modern sports facilities, it has over the soccer fields, tennis courts and one aviation area where you can practice gliding (glider). From the rocks of Mount San Severino and you can take off with a paraglider. And ‘possible to take walks and follow different trekking routes which, starting from neighboring countries leading up to St. Leo.