Attractions and Places To See around Apecchio - Top 20

Besides being an interesting religious monument, bearing witness to the many earthquakes that have long plagued the region, the parish church is also a hostel for pilgrims walking the Via di Francesco. It's run by volunteers, so it's best to call to make sure it's open.

The ruins of the Mondelacasa Castle (or Monte della Casa), called the Muracci, are located on the northern slopes of Mount Nerone, on the left bank of Val d'Abisso, at 707 m above sea level, about 1 km south of the historic center of Piobbico. (from COMUNE PIOBBICO 1999): Close to Mount Nerone stands a massive buttress whose base widens between the Biscubio torrent and the Petrello stream (Fosso di S. Maria) and carries the ruins of an ancient artifact on the summit. It was a castle, a primitive dwelling that the Brancaleoni, who arrived around the year 1000 in the Biscubio District, built and lived in until the mid-1300s. This is how our Costanzo Felici (1) describes it in a document from 1582:... climbing up to Monte Nerone a mile away on a rough and terrible hill and rock, there are vestiges of a superb, large and beautiful palace or fortress now in ruins, of which those (Brancaleoni) of Piobico were the owners. Built by Gentile Brancaleoni in the first half of the 13th century, it took the name of Mons Casa or Mondelacasa, today Muracci because of the ruins visible on the summit. Towards the middle of the 14th century, both because of the harshness of the place, difficult to reach when ... winter almost buried the tower under the snow, locked it under the grip of the ice, tormented it with the blizzard, confining it for months in isolation, and because of the need for other and more comfortable comforts, the two brothers Pazzo and Federico Brancaleoni decided to settle in the house that they had begun to build "in castro Plobici", on the hill to the right of the confluence of the Biscubio with the Candigliano, where there were already small houses piled up, that is, equipped with a watchtower with a Gothic arch portal to the north and a castle to the south-east. It is the place where the Brancaleoni Castle-Palazzo will develop and take shape over time. NOTE: (1) Costanzo Felici was born in the second decade of the 16th century in Casteldurante (now Urbania). However, he preferred to define himself as a native of Piobbico, where his ancestors had moved around 1330. He practiced medicine in Piobbico, Sant'Angelo in Vado, Pesaro, Rimini and Urbania. At the same time, he cultivated naturalistic and historical studies with notable results. He died in Pesaro on February 5, 1585. taken from: https://www.lavalledelmetauro.it/contenuti/beni-storici-artistici/scheda/11123.html

The Pieve de' Saddi, which means Parish of the Saints, is located along the path of San Francesco after Città di Castello towards Pietralunga.

To be avoided like the plague on weekends, it feels like being in Mugello

The history of Pietralunga is at least as rich as the variety of names this place has had over the millennia. Founded by the Umbrians with the name of Tufi, it later came under the influence of Rome with the name of Forum Julii Concupiensium. Razed to the ground during the barbarian invasions, it was rebuilt with the name of Plebs Tuphiae. Over time the vast fields that surround it earned it the name of Pratalonga, a name that persisted until the advent of the Kingdom of Italy which Italianized it into Pietralunga.

Pieve dei Saddi was built on the remains of a pre-existing pagan temple to house the remains of San Crescentino. The Saint was a devout and convinced spreader of the Christian faith in the Tiberina Umbrian valley and for this reason he was killed during the purges wanted by the emperor Diocletian in the 4th century. The current church has Romanesque forms and dates back to the second half of the 11th century. The plan is divided into three naves and closes in the rear part with a polygonal apse, on the outside there is a beautiful bell tower. The crypt once housed the remains of San Crescentino, which were then moved to Urbino.

The area where the town of Pietralunga stands has been inhabited since prehistoric times, however the first inhabited center was founded by the Umbrians while it was the Romans who later left the valley below to settle in today's position. The current town has a typical medieval appearance with the oldest nucleus developing around the Rocca and the Parish Church of Santa Maria.

Be careful on weekends with good weather, the road is filled with motorbikes