When you arrive in Santarcangelo di Romagna you won’t be able to help falling for its old brick houses, its crenellated walls, its medieval bell towers. Strolling through its colourful little streets, you can breathe in the authentic beauty of this region and all its ancient charm.
Why should you visit Santarcangelo?
Today the town is home to almost 20,000 people, but the citizens of Santarcangelo are so attached to their traditions and their history that, despite the restoration of the old town, you’ll notice a particular care in keeping the village as authentic as possible.
Everywhere you feel a strong cultural identity, perhaps because this place gave birth to a great number of artists and intellectuals like no other provincial town. Or perhaps because the events still held here draw thousands of visitors from all over Italy.
Do you think that’s all?
Well, no, because the town is famous for another reason too: the beautiful tufa caves of Santarcangelo.
But I don’t want to give too much away!
Below I’ll take you to discover the beautiful Santarcangelo di Romagna: you’ll find out what to see and which are the most important attractions of this town so full of history.
Of course, don’t forget to discover what to see in Rimini.
Off we go!
A short history of Santarcangelo di Romagna
The development of the town of Santarcangelo is tied above all to the Malatesta family, the same behind the Malatesta Temple in Rimini: having risen to the lordship of Rimini at the end of the 13th century, they obtained the vicariate of Santarcangelo during the 14th century. To them we owe the expansion of the medieval village and the rebuilding of the old fortress, which has come down to us precisely thanks to their work.
Until the 19th century the town kept on expanding, but its origins are much older.
Did you know, for instance, that the first settlements in Santarcangelo go all the way back to Roman times?
After founding the ancient Ariminum, today Rimini, the Romans settled among these hills because they were crossed by the Via Emilia, an important consular road along which trade and encounters took place.
Why does this matter so much?
Because during the Middle Ages its nature as a “town of passage” made it a flourishing village, enough to allow the building of the first town fortifications and the walls. The town was moved onto Giove Hill, which gave it the distinctive appearance we can still see today.
Okay, but so what is there to see?
Let’s start with one of the things that struck me most: the beautiful caves of Santarcangelo.
The caves of Santarcangelo di Romagna
The subsoil of Santarcangelo di Romagna is entirely carved out by an intricate labyrinth of tunnels and artificial caves, dug by the local population, stretching for several kilometres: there are more than 150 hypogea, hand-dug into the sandstone and tufa.
What were they for?
In truth, the origin and use of these caves is still not clear to historians. They were probably first dug as burial places, perhaps in Etruscan or Roman times; later they were used by the first Christians as “clandestine churches”, keeping this function until the Middle Ages.
And then?
Well, what would you do with a cool, dry place sheltered from the sun’s rays?
With the building of the first churches on the surface, the tufa caves of Santarcangelo lost their religious function and were put to much more practical uses. They became cellars for storing meat and the excellent Sangiovese wine but, over the centuries, they played different and very important roles for the town and its people.
The caves were a real salvation for the population, especially during the Second World War. Most of the inhabitants took refuge in the tunnels to escape the bombing and forced conscription.
Some even lived there for months on end, hidden from the military police and fed by the women and the elderly who kept living on the surface.
Do you want to visit them?
The caves of Santarcangelo are a real historical heritage for the town and are visited with a guide at a modest price (about 4 € per person, free for children up to 14), on a tour of around half an hour. Visits are booked at the tourist office (IAT) of Santarcangelo.
For me it was wonderful to hear all the stories and legends about these hidden places, told directly by a local. I found it truly fascinating, and certainly a different way to discover a town.
It may seem strange, but I found a very similar network of tunnels in France, in the beautiful Provins, not far from Paris.
The medieval village
The upper part of the town is divided into contrade (districts) and is the heart of Santarcangelo di Romagna.
The medieval village is a grid of streets that has stayed almost identical from the Middle Ages to today, with palaces and a few fine monuments that have earned it the title of “city of art”.
But what to see?
I recommend starting your tour of Santarcangelo from the arch on Piazza Ganganelli. It’s a work of 1777, designed by the architect Cosimo Morelli in honour of Pope Clement XIV, born Lorenzo Ganganelli right here in 1705. The arch was completed three years after the pope’s death.
I’m not especially fond of 18th-century art, but I still recommend stepping into the Collegiate Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary: inside you’ll find a beautiful 14th-century crucifix of the Rimini school.
The most important attraction to visit remains, in my view, the beautiful Malatesta Fortress. The building that has come down to us was rebuilt in 1386 by Carlo Malatesta on the remains of an older castle (a castrum is documented here as far back as the 9th century), and later modified by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta. Today it’s a private residence, so it can only be visited on specific days, but it’s very beautiful from the outside too thanks to its imposing tower.
Would you like a curiosity about this building?
A local tradition holds that it was right here that Paolo and Francesca met their death, the two lovers described by Dante in the Divine Comedy. The most famous setting of the legend is actually the castle of Gradara, but Santarcangelo has disputed it for centuries with Gradara, Rimini and Pesaro: it’s said that on moonless nights the ghost of Francesca, the “White Lady”, still wanders the alleys.
Would you ever have imagined it?
The Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo
The oldest religious building in the town is the Pieve di San Michele Arcangelo. Of early Christian origin, it can be dated to around the 6th century and perhaps stands on the remains of a much older pagan temple.
It reminded me a lot of the Byzantine churches of Ravenna, even though the bell tower dates to the 12th century.
Although the building was restored in the last century, it still keeps intact its charm as an ancient medieval church, with an exterior of thin bricks like, for instance, that of the larger and more famous Sant’Apollinare in Classe.
What to see inside?
Unfortunately only a few fragments of the ancient floor and the marble decorations remain; the most interesting part is the apse, with the altar and some medieval decorations.
A pity!
When to visit Santarcangelo
If you’re not particularly fond of crowds, I recommend watching out for the days when the fairs of Santarcangelo are held, or you’ll find yourself in the middle of the hustle and won’t manage to enjoy the town.
Which are the most important fairs?
One of the most famous in all of Romagna is the Fiera di San Martino, held every year around 11 November. It’s an ancient livestock fair where you’ll find stalls with typical local produce and the phenomenal piadine famous throughout the region.
On the days away from the fairs, though, the town isn’t especially besieged by visitors: it’s ideal for a stroll at the weekend.
Around Santarcangelo di Romagna
This whole part of Romagna is dotted with very characteristic little villages or larger towns such as Rimini, right nearby, or Cesenatico with its canal port, further north. Not far away you’ll also find Ravenna, with its famous mosaics.
In the hinterland, on the other hand, I recommend the Rocca dei Guidi in Bagno di Romagna, famous above all for an old ghost legend about young Guendalina Malatesta, who according to tradition was killed in the castle’s cellars in 1375.
Would you rather take a dip in the sea?
If you want to move along the coast to the south, near Cattolica you’ll find the little town of Gabicce, less known than the famous summer destinations but with cleaner water and less crowded beaches.
One of the loveliest beaches is the one along the Baia di Vallugola, a small natural cove with pebbles and crystal-clear sea.
And you, are you drawn more to the mystery of Santarcangelo’s caves or to the atmosphere of its medieval alleys?
