What is Longiano known for?

Hill-top stronghold of the Malatesta from 1290 to 1463, communal property since 1989, now the seat of the Tito Balestra Foundation. Over 2,000 twentieth-century works held inside the castle, one of the larger modern art collections in the region. Nineteenth-century horseshoe theater below the castle, opened in 1870 and named for the Neapolitan composer Errico Petrella.

Longiano is a comune in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 21 kilometers from Rimini.

Emilia-Romagna · Forlì-Cesena

Longiano

A 179-meter Malatesta borgo on the hills between Cesena and Rimini, holding the Tito Balestra collection inside the family castle.

21 km / 13 mi

Nearest hub (Rimini)

7,215

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Arancione

Why come

Longiano sitson the first hill line between Cesena and Rimini, eleven kilometers inland from Cesenatico and within sight of the Adriatic. The town shifted from the plain to the hill in the seventh and eighth centuries, when the local population moved up to escape Lombard raids. From 1290 to 1463 the Castello Malatestiano was a residence of the Malatesta of Rimini, who fortified the hilltop; Longiano then passed to the Church in 1581 and stayed under papal rule until unification. The castle has belonged to the commune since 1989 and houses the Fondazione Tito Balestra, one of the larger twentieth-century art collections in Emilia-Romagna, built around more than 2,000 works donated by the widow of the local poet Tito Balestra in 1986. The Teatro Petrella, an 1870 horseshoe theater restored in 1986, sits below the castle. The Santuario del Santissimo Crocifisso, a Franciscan sanctuary built around a thirteenth-century painted crucifix, has held seven centuries of continuous Franciscan presence.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello Malatestiano
Hilltop castle held by the Malatesta of Rimini from 1290 to 1463, now home to the Fondazione Tito Balestra collection of twentieth-century art.
Teatro Petrella
Horseshoe theater opened in 1870 and named for the composer Errico Petrella, restored in 1986 and known for its acoustics.
Santuario del Santissimo Crocifisso
Franciscan sanctuary built around a thirteenth-century painted crucifix on oak panel, with continuous Franciscan presence for over seven centuries.
Fondazione Tito Balestra
Collection of over 2,000 twentieth-century oils, drawings and sculptures, donated in 1986 by Anna Maria De Agazio, widow of the Longiano-born poet Tito Balestra.
Centro storico
Medieval borgo on the hilltop, with porta and town walls preserved around the castle and theater.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through October are the months for Longiano. The hilltop catches a breeze the coastal plain below does not, and the views run from the Apennines to the Adriatic on clear days. July and August touch the low thirties and the centro storico empties between two and five; many visitors come up from Cesenatico and Cervia in the late afternoon for the cooler air and the castle. The Balestra collection runs year-round, with seasonal exhibitions tied to the foundation's calendar. November to March is quiet, with the sanctuary and the castle still open but many trattorie closed mid-week.