Rocca Malatestiana di Montefiore Conca

Montefiore Conca is the mediaeval capital of the Valconca and is listed among the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy. The fortress, with its angular lines, stands on a hill 385 metres high: on clear days your gaze sweeps across the coast from Fano to Ravenna. By 1347 it was already built, hosting the king and queen of Hungary.

Born as a fortress, in the 14th century it also became an elegant residence, one of the Malatesta family's favourite summer homes. Pope Gregory XII was hosted here, and later Julius II. In 1459 it passed to Federico da Montefeltro and then to the Papal States.

Restoration work in 2006-2008 reopened rooms that had been closed, such as the Sala dell'Imperatore with paintings by the Bolognese artist Jacopo Avanzi, dating from just after the mid-14th century. Excavations in the rooms yielded majolica, glass, coins and weapons, now displayed along the route, which also features multimedia and tactile installations accessible to all.

The castle tells the story of Costanza Malatesta and her German knight Ormanno, killed on 15 October 1378 on the orders of her uncle Galeotto: it is said that their souls still wander within these walls.