What is Vallefoglia known for?

Painter and chronicler born in Colbordolo c. 1440, father of Raffaello, who ran the Urbino workshop where his son first learned to paint. Risorgimento philosopher and statesman from Sant'Angelo in Lizzola (1799-1885), part of the Perticari literary circle that drew Leopardi and Rossini. Olive oil pressed from the valley slopes between Pesaro and Urbino, the trade that carries the Città dell'Olio signal to the commune.

Where is Vallefoglia?

Vallefoglia is a comune in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche region of Italy, about 42 kilometers from Rimini.

Marche · Pesaro e Urbino

Vallefoglia

A 2014 merger communein the Foglia valley, born from Colbordolo, birthplace of Raffaello's father, and Sant'Angelo in Lizzola.

42 km / 26 mi

Nearest hub (Rimini)

14,935

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Vallefoglia was created in 2014 by referendum, when 76.3% of voters approved the merger of Colbordolo and Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, two adjacent communes in the Foglia valley between Pesaro and Urbino. The new commune sitsand runs along the river that gives it its name, on the route between the Adriatic coast and the Montefeltro hills. Colbordolo's castle is documented from 1213 in a bull of Pope Innocent III, and in 1446 Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta took it from the Montefeltro after a long siege and burned it. Giovanni Santi, the painter who fathered Raffaello, was born in Colbordolo around 1440 and ran the workshop in Urbino where his son trained. Sant'Angelo in Lizzola produced the engineer Giovanni Branca (1571-1645) and the Risorgimento statesman Terenzio Mamiani (1799-1885); the circle of Giulio Perticari and his wife Costanza Monti drew Leopardi and Rossini in the nineteenth century. Olive oil from the valley slopes carries the Città dell'Olio signal.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello di Colbordolo
Medieval castle documented from 1213, contested between the Malatesta and the Montefeltro, burned by Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta in 1446 and rebuilt at lower scale.
Palazzo Mamiani-Della Rovere
Sixteenth-century palace in Sant'Angelo in Lizzola, family seat of the Mamiani della Rovere, who produced Risorgimento statesman Terenzio Mamiani.
Centro storico di Sant'Angelo in Lizzola
Hilltop nucleus on the right bank of the Foglia, with the Piazza della Repubblica, the Chiesa di Sant'Apollinare and views to the Montefeltro ridges.
Casa natale di Giovanni Santi
Birthplace marker in Colbordolo for Giovanni Santi (c. 1440-1494), painter and chronicler of the Montefeltro court and father of Raffaello.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the best months for Vallefoglia. The Foglia valley turns green in spring, the olive groves run silver across the slopes through summer, and the harvest weeks in October fill the small frantoi. July and August touch the low thirties on the valley floor; the higher frazioni at 295 meters and above catch evening breezes from the Montefeltro. Pesaro and the Adriatic are eleven kilometers downstream, an easy day off in summer. November through March is quiet and damp, with mist rising off the Foglia and many of the smaller agricultural businesses on appointment-only hours.