Rocca Malatestiana di Mondaino

Mondaino sits on a ridge on the border between the Valconca and Foglia valleys, 32 kilometres from Rimini and 23 from Urbino. For centuries it was a contested military outpost between Rimini and the Duchy of Urbino; the Malatesta family expanded the castle and in the 16th century the walls took on their present appearance, with the great sloping rampart designed to withstand cannon fire.

Precisely because of its border position, Mondaino was the chosen place for signing peace treaties between the two rival lordships: the one in 1393 between Carlo Malatesta and Antonio II da Montefeltro, and the one in 1459 between Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta and Federico da Montefeltro, broken after just a few months.

Today the fortress houses the town hall, in Piazza Maggiore, and the town's museums. One tells a little-known story: for over two centuries, from the late 15th to the 17th century, many pottery workshops operated in the castle, and their majolica has been found along the walls and in the historic centre.

Next to the fortress opens Piazza Maggiore, circular in shape, with the crescent-shaped arcade built around 1818-1820: the people of Mondaino call it 'la padella' (the frying pan), and Via Roma is its handle. It's the setting for the Palio de lo Daino, which commemorates the peace of 1459.