San Leo

San Leo is in the heart of the Montefeltro countryside to the south-west of Rimini on a hilltop 600 metres above sea level that has been occupied since Roman times. San Leo is listed as a 'most beautiful village in Italy' and also has the Orange Flag award for sustainable tourism.

The highlight of San Leo is the stunningly located castle, on a large craggy rock above the village (or rather a precipitous cliff, on one side) - and very well worth the short steep climb from the village. It even impressed Dante, who based his descriptions of purgatory on the site.

Fort of San Leo

Leaving along Via Leopardi we come to the Fort at San Leo. From the Middle Ages onwards the area surrounding the fortress was used for strategic and defensive purposes, but its current design and appearance date to the second half of the 15th century when Federico da Montefeltro (1422-1482) put in place various works, under the supervision of the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501). The structure of the fortress is divided into two distinct levels: at the top stands the impressive tower with an elongated shape while below two linked towers complement the building.The fort has decorative motifs that were dear to the artist, such as cornices and corbels.

The fortress housed many people of great importance, including Dante (1265-1321), the Count of Cagliostro (1743-1793), who was a prisoner of the Papal States here, and St. Francis (1182 ca.-1226), who, it was said, was the founder of the Convent of St. Igne, nestling in the countryside one mile from Saint Leo.

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