Epic challenges, glorious duels, legendary deeds. Impossible not to relive the past between the beautiful strongholds of Valmarecchia, built and reinforced from the Middle Ages to the early Renaissance. Testimonies of a harsh and tumultuous time, the thousand fortifications of the territory are the symbol of human ambition to invincibility.
Everything reaches upwards, to defend life and beauty, to challenge gravity, to touch the sky and beyond.

Not only the mighty architectures, but also the Apennine territory rises in height, with its shape and its overhangs, creating magnificent vertigo ready to amaze the sight and touch the soul.

The first, marvelous example of vertiginous grandeur is the fort of San Leo: a place of Dante's memory, already a film set for films and documentaries, this structure develops on the highest part of the limestone massif that houses the village.
Over the centuries it has been contested by the ancient peoples, the Romans, the Byzantines and the Longobards, and - later - by the major Italian noble families, including the Malatesta and the Montefeltro families, this fortress has preserved its majesty.

The Rocca Fregoso - or Rocca delle Fiabe - in Sant'Agata Feltria, in the deep heart of the Romagna Apennines, is nestled on a rocky shield: this rise, built in the dark heart of the medieval period, underwent successive architectural adjustments, without ever losing its function as a defensive watch. Today, the building rekindles its legendary soul, hosting the world of fairy tales in a permanent museum for children.

Looking back towards the Adriatic coast, we find the monumental complex of the Rocca del Sasso in Verucchio: located on top of a rocky spur, the Malatesta stronghold remained loyal, over the centuries, to its mission of strategic and military defense.

Not far away, in the town of Poggio Torriana, stands the castle of Montebello: on this hill, the war stories of the leaders are intertwined with those of Azzurrina, a girl with turquoise hair, which according to legend disappeared forever in the castle, leaving his ghost wandering restlessly.
 
Finally, in Santarcangelo di Romagna, you can admire the Malatesta Fortress. This structure, with its polygonal towers, preserves the architecture and the authentic atmosphere of the Middle Ages.