San Leo

At an altitude of 539 m. In Montefeltro, located on a rocky shelf on the right side of the  Marecchia valley, St Leo is the last northern extension of Mount Carpegna. It is a tourist destination as well as a producer of cereals, grapes (wine); animal fodder; livestock (for cheese and salami), wood and footwear. It was mentioned by Dante (Purg., IV, 25). The town has maintained the original medieval structure, with a single access road and the village gathered around the central square. Overlooking the piazza is the Della Rovere Palace, now City Hall (early seventeenth century.) The Medici palace from the Renaissance has been greatly restructured, and the apse of the parish is an interesting example of pre-Romanesque architecture, with three naves and a crypt (IX sec.). In a remote location, flanked by the sturdy Romanesque bell tower, is the cathedral (1173), with three aisles and a wide crypt, in which the Lombard Romanesque style is enriched by Gothic accents. On the highest point of the cliff stands the huge fortress, one of the most famous examples of Italian military architecture. Of ancient origin, it was restructured several times, and in the Renaissance Francesco di Giorgio Martini added the angular towers and a bulwark curtain. It was turned into a prison by the papal government, and Cagliostro (who died there), Felice Orsini and A. Saffi were imprisoned, among others. Also in the area is the beautiful convent Sant'Igne (fifteenth century frescoes in the cloisters) and in the village of Pietracuta, the medieval fortress.