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Cagli

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Cagli

An "ideal town". Made of Renaissance palaces in local white stone, a testimony to the ancient splendour of art and culture. With noble dwellings that alternate with ancient churches that guard the timeless masterpieces of Giovanni Santi, Timoteo Viti and the Cagli’s very own Gaetano Lapis.

The equilibrium of shapes and proportions and the Apennine woods are the backdrop to the imposing tower of the city, designed in 1481 by the architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini  on the orders of Duke Federico from Montefeltro.

The aesthetic roofs reflect the quality of the architectural system and the austerity of the urban context that extends along the ancient Via Flaminia, where the river Bosso joins the river Burano, between paths to discover on bicycle and hiking trails to walk with a backpack.

According to some historians, this area inspired Leon Battista Alberti in his design of the ideal city. As can be seen from the background of the famous painting attributed to Laurana (Alberta's collaborator): it is believed that it is a precise copy the plateau of Monte Petrano, whose slopes spread out from the village. In this ideal city, the geometric shape and symmetry find the utmost expression in the eighteenth-century Matteotti Square, overlooking the Palazzo Pubblico, today the seat of the Council and the Archaeological Museum. With a medieval structure, the building was transformed by Martini at the request of the Duke of Urbino, but the works were never completed.

Under the domination of Federico da Montefeltro, Cagli enjoyed a golden era, between artistic contamination and architectural ferment. They were the years of the rhomboidal towers and walls. The centre of the fortification system is the only building that survived the devastation at the hands of the troops of Cesare Borgia and today it is home to a lively Contemporary Sculpture Centre.

Very little remains of the medieval period apart form the church of San Domenico, whose decoration of the Tiranni Chapel was done using the fresco technique and is considered the masterpiece of Giovanni Santi, father of Raffaello. Other noteworthy churches are the Cathedral of St. Francis, Santa Maria della Misericordia, Sant'Angelo Minore and St. Joseph. Among the civic buildings the nineteenth-century Municipal Theatre at least deserves a quote. There is a Roman monument of great importance, abridge called Ponte Mallio over the river Bosso.

The best opportunity to fully enjoy the area is to take a holiday here. There is a  "Special Sausages"  festival, and the region is famous for carrots making Cagli a market of national excellence.

Fervour and popular devotion reach extreme levels during Easter: Participating in the processions of Christ or Corpus domains becomes a totalising and exciting experience.

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