Talamello

Harmonies to taste. The fame of Talamello, a small medieval town in the heart of the Montefeltro region, is based on a mix of art and food: it is the land of Giotto's crucifixes, but also of exquisite “Fossa” cheese.

It is no coincidence that this delicious dairy specialty received the praise of the artist, Tonino Guerra, who exalted its purity and prestige, renaming it "Talamello amber". This cheese is enriched with odours and unique flavours during the three months of maturing that precedes its consumption, and which takes place in special dugouts in the rock called “Fosse”. A careful and patient preparation, respecting the times of nature and dating back to the Middle Ages. To this special cheese, the result of a wise and buoyant production, Talamello dedicates an event which takes place every year in November. Another appointment that celebrates the local flavours is the Valmarecchia chestnut fair, which takes place in October.

The flavours of Talamello conquer the soul, taste after taste, as do the streets of the village, ready to astonish visitors at every step and every glance. The ancient town offers an intimate experience that gradually opens up its beauty: the streets, staircases, palaces and churches tell visitors of the evolution of ecclesiastical and noble domination. In just a small area, there are a thousand unexpected treasures: the main square embellished with an elegant fountain, the splendid portal of the fifteenth century bishop's palace, the inside of the votive chapel adjacent to the cemetery, a chest of authentic Renaissance jewels. This small building is entirely frescoed with the paintings by Antonio Alberti: from the bottom of the walls to the facades and up to the cross vaults, these paintings represent much of the history of the Church, creating a prodigious "visual gallery” designed as the documentary.

The jewel in the crown of the local artistic heritage is the splendid Crucifix from th "Rimini School of the Thirteen Hundreds", preserved on the main altar of the seventeenth-century church of San Lorenzo. A symbol of beauty and geometric perfection, this work is also linked to a subtle mystery: many have reason to believe that the artist responsible for this Crucifix - attributed to Giovanni da Rimini, a pupil of Giotto - was actually Giotto himself.

The artistic heritage of this village, surrounded by greenery, also includes modern artwork: The “Lo splendore del reale” is a Pinacotheca and museum that houses over 50 canvases by Fernando Gualtieri, a masterful inventor of a very personal realism made of lights, colours and perfection of shapes.
In its "aerial form", art becomes music. Among the musicians of Talamello, a village of art in 360 degrees, there is the composer Amintore Galli who wrote the workers anthem “L’Inno dei Lavoratori”