The Malatesta castle of Longiano, the Roman bridge over Caesar's Rubicon, Giovanni Pascoli's birthplace and Villa Torlonia.
Between Cesena and Rimini, a few kilometres from the sea: the river that Julius Caesar crossed in 49 BC saying 'the die is cast', a village with the Malatesta castle and a twentieth-century art collection, and San Mauro, Giovanni Pascoli's hometown, with the house where he was born and the estate where his father was killed, the story of 'X Agosto'.
Times are a guide: driving times are worked out without traffic, then come the visits and ten minutes at every stop to park. In summer towards the coast and at rush hour allow extra time.
The Malatesta castle dominates the village from the hilltop. Inside is the Fondazione Tito Balestra, the Longiano poet who assembled, mainly through friendships with artists, a major twentieth-century art collection, including works by Mino Maccari. Beneath the castle runs an air-raid tunnel from the Second World War. From the square the view reaches the sea.
Closed on Mondays; in August afternoons only.
The Rubicon was the boundary that a Roman general could not cross in arms without the Senate's permission: Caesar did so in 49 BC and began the civil war. The bridge at Savignano, with three arches of Istrian stone on the Via Emilia, dates from the 1st century AD; blown up in 1944, it was rebuilt using the original stones recovered from the river. In 1933 the river at Savignano was officially recognised as the Rubicon.
Always accessible.
Pascoli was born here on 31 December 1855, the fourth of ten children; since 1932 the town has borne his name. A national monument since 1924, it contains the family furniture, portraits and letters, and the garden of childhood memories that return in Myricae.
Closed on Mondays. Guided tours on Sunday afternoons.
The heart of the Torlonia princes' estate, where Ruggero Pascoli, the poet's father, worked. On 10 August 1867, returning from Cesena market on his trap drawn by the dapple-grey mare, he was shot dead: a crime without a culprit that returns in 'X Agosto' and in 'Cavallina storna'. Today there is a multimedia museum about the poet and life on the estate.
Closed on Mondays; in summer concerts and readings in the courtyard.
How long it takes from each town, the drive back included. Tap a town to see the plan from there.
Almost every old town has a limited traffic zone (ZTL) with cameras: park outside and walk in. The fine reaches your home, abroad too. ZTL and car parks town by town
Romagna Transfer picks you up at your hotel, drops you in front of every stop and brings you back: no parking, no ZTL, and the wine is yours to enjoy.
The Musei San Domenico with Melozzo and Canova, the Rocca di Ravaldino, Piazza Saffi and the bell tower of San Mercuriale
4 h 30 from Imola Half day
The plan
Europe's first civic library, the Masini Fountain, the Malatestiana Fortress on Garampo hill and the ex-votos of the Madonna del Monte.
5 h 15 from Imola Half day
The plan
Casa Artusi and the fortress of Forlimpopoli, the parish church of Polenta celebrated by Carducci, the Column of Hospitality and the Rocca of Bertinoro.
5 h 15 from Imola Half day
The plan
The city founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1564, the Fortress of Castrocaro on its rocky outcrop, and the Art Deco Festival Pavilion at the spa.
5 h 20 from Imola Half day
The plan
Plautus's birthplace with the Roman mausoleum of Obulaccus and St Vicinio's chain, then the Tuscan spa town.
5 h 20 from Imola Half day
The planTrips written by our editors from the facts of our monument pages and the official sites. Opening days and hours change: the note under every place tells you what to check before you leave. No prices: you find them on the museums' sites.
