A well known seaside resort on the Adriatic Coast in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Gatteo a Mare is delimited by rivers Rubicone and Rigossa, at short distance from Cesenatico. An important touristic destination, which features very ancient origins. "Alea iacta est" (the die is cast), is the famous phrase uttered by Julius Caesar, while he crossed the Rubicon River. Since then, each era has left its indelible traces.
Founded as a Roman settlement, as evidenced by the discovery of traces of brick, marble, metals, coins and statues, over the centuries, Gatteo has changed its name several times: "Fundus Catei" (1140), "Tumba Gatei" (1311), "Commune Gate "(1358) and" Castrum Gattei "(1371). Since 1200, the medieval town of Gatteo, during the course of centuries, submitted the domains of several noble families: the Counts Guidi di Bagno, the Papal States, Cesare Borgia, the Venetians and the Ordelaffi. Taken from the Papal States in 1797 by the armies of Napoleon, Gatteo was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy in 1859 and became an independent municipality by a decree of March 30, 1860.
Sites of Interest:
- the Parish Church of San Lorenzo, built in 1290 within the castle walls, in 1819, it was incorporated into the nearby Church of the Madonna del Popolo, erected in 1576, at the behest of the Marquis of Bath Fabrizio Guidi and his wife, Laura Colonna, in the square facing the medieval castle. In 1821 the old church of San Lorenzo was demolished and in 1847 the Bell Tower submitted the same fate. In 1868-1880 the expansion of the Parish Church begins with the construction of the side chapels, and in 1917-1919 the church was restored completely with the rebuilding of the apse and the enlargement of the nave. Inside the church it is possible to admire the paintings by the local artist Don Stefano Montanari (known as the "painting priest"), born in Gatteo in the second half of the 700, who grew up spiritually and artistically in Rome;
- the Oratory of San Rocco, the oldest church in Gatteo a Mare, after the demolition of the San Lorenzo. Built in 1484, it features a very simple structure, with a single nave plan and a gabled façade with a small rose window above the main entrance. The frescoes that decorate the interior, make of this chapel, a jewel of sacred art;
- the Malatesta Castle, built in the XIII century, probably on the site of an ancient Roman military camp. Profoundly altered in later centuries, it features a rectangular plan, with a watch tower and five bastions, surrounded by a moat;
- the Bell Tower of the Church of St. Anthony, all that remains of one of the oldest buildings in Gatteo a Mare, dating back to 1467. The church was destroyed during the bombing of the Second World War.