Municipality of Pesaro-Urbino, is situated on a hill facing the sea, distant only a few kilometers away, near the mouth of Cesano. From the village, it is possible to enjoy a wide panorama of the surrounding area, especially on days when the sky is particularly clear, even Dalmatia is visible. Mondolfo is an ideal departure point for memorable excursions between the nearby villages and the Catria area, where the local fauna features several rare examples of wildlife, including the golden eagle and the wolf.
Findings attest the presence of settlements since the Neolithic period and colonized by the Romans, a port was developed near the delta of the river, to load and unload goods on their way from the nearby valley to Rome along the Via Flaminia . In the VI century a castle was built on the hill around which, in medieval times, the first settlement was erected, that gave shelter to the people of the nearby valley, constantly exposed to Saracen attacks. The center was equipped with two series of boundary walls, which, in the XV century, incorporated the fortress built and designed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Thanks to its privileged location, from the castle it was possible to control the coast, near the mouth of the river and the valley below, and this aspect of Mondolfo made it become a strategic garrison to defend the coast from the Saracens. In the subsequent centuries, the town submitted the domain of the local Lords of Mondolfo, the Malatesta, the Papal States, the Della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino, till, in the XVII century, it returned to the Church.
Attractions:
- the Shrine of Our Lady of the Caverns of the XVII century, in Renaissance style on the outside and in Baroque style inside. It features a single nave plan and preserves inside an effigy of the Virgin, object of great devotion. Surrounded by a pine forest, which is an ideal place for picnics;
- the Complex of St. Augustine, which is composed of a XVI century Church and a Convent rebuilt in the XVII century. Adjacent to the church is a cloister with frescoes depicting the life of St. Augustine;
- the Church of Santa Maria del Soccorso, built in the second half of the XVI century;
- the XVIII century Church and Cloister of San Sebastian;
- the XVII century Church of St. John;
- the Abbey of San Gervasio, built between the V-VI centuries;
- the Collegiate Church of Santa Giustina, built in 1760;
- the Bastion of St. Anne and the adjacent Martiniano Gardens;
- the XVI century Palazzo Giraldi Della Rovere;
- the XVI century Palazzo Peruzzi.