What is Mercatello sul Metauro known for?

The Pieve Collegiata held direct dependence on the Holy See from 1180, exempt from any bishop, with jurisdiction over forty-seven churches and chapels. Medieval district that supplied roof beams for Roman and papal building, with Mercatello its administrative center from the thirteenth century. Joined the network in 2018 for the preserved medieval core, the 1235 walls and the Piazza Garibaldi-Pieve-Palazzo Comunale axis.

Where is Mercatello sul Metauro?

Mercatello sul Metauro is a comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche region of Italy, about 82 kilometers from Rimini.

Marche · Pesaro e Urbino

Mercatello sul Metauro

A walled borgoin the upper Metauro, autonomous since 1235, with a pieve exempt from any bishop.

82 km / 51 mi

Nearest hub (Rimini)

1,326

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Mercatello sul Metauro sitsin the upper Metauro valley, in the Massa Trabaria, the medieval district that supplied beams for Roman and papal building. Etruscans and then Romans held the site, where it stood between the municipia of Tiferno Metaurense and Tiferno Tiberino under the name Pieve d'Ico. The town became an autonomous commune in 1235 under a bull of Pope Gregory IX; within fifty years walls had risen around it and the name had changed to Mercatello sul Metauro. The Pieve Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, attested from the ninth century and rebuilt in 1363, was placed by Pope Alexander III in 1180 under direct dependence on the Holy See, exempt from any bishop, with forty-seven churches and chapels under its jurisdiction. Its current Romanesque facade was rebuilt in 1927 on the 1363 plan. The borgo joined the Borghi più belli d'Italia in 2018 for the preserved medieval core around Piazza Garibaldi.

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Gallery

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Known for

Pieve Collegiata dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Romanesque parish church attested from the ninth century, rebuilt in 1363, placed under direct dependence on the Holy See in 1180 with jurisdiction over forty-seven churches.
Piazza Garibaldi
Main square of the medieval borgo, faced by the pieve, the Palazzo Comunale and the seventeenth-century Palazzo Gasparini.
Mura medievali
Thirteenth-century walls built within fifty years of the 1235 charter, still defining the perimeter of the centro storico.
Convento di Santa Veronica Giuliani
Capuchin convent linked to Santa Veronica Giuliani, the Mercatello-born mystic canonized in 1839, with relics and writings preserved.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October is the working season for Mercatello sul Metauro. The upper Metauro valley turns green from April, the walls and the pieve open every day, and the woodland trails of the surrounding Massa Trabaria forests open for slow walks. June through August touches the low thirties in the valley but the 429-meter elevation keeps the borgo a few degrees cooler than the lowland. September and October bring truffle season and the clearest light across the upper Metauro. November through March is the slow season: the borgo runs on reduced hours, the pieve holds its winter schedule of masses, and snow occasionally reaches the higher frazioni.