It is a historic village with a fortified center, is set in the province of Rimini and is known as the “cradle of the Malatesta” because it was here that the power of the Malatesta started by Giovanni della Penna dei Billi (1150-90), called precisely “the Malatesta”. From the Malatesta Fortress – one of the largest and most well-preserved Malatesta fortifications – the view is intriguing and the view can range from the Adriatic sea to the green Apennine foothills. Perched on an imposing spur, Verucchio is a succession of churches, squares, ancient sources and parish churches and presents itself with its medieval structure, stretched between two hills once crowned with mighty fortresses: that of the Sasso, today Rocca Malatestiana, and that of the Passerello. The village is full of historic buildings and in the center of Piazza Malatesta looks out over the Town Hall, a building that in 1895 replaced part of the oldest one, unfortunately lost. On the square there are further historic buildings: the 18th-century Palazzo Giungi-Morolli, the neoclassical Palazzo Bedetti and, a short distance away and in Via dei Martiri, Pecci’s palace, in neoclassical style, an elixir of beauty and historical preciousness. Interesting, in addition to the Malatesta Fortress and the buildings, is also the Civic Archaeological Museum, set up in the premises of an ancient Augustinian convent: in the rooms of the museum collection are exposed valuable archaeological finds of the Villanovan Verucchiese culture. In the vicinity of the second fortress of Verucchio – known as the Passerello -, instead, there is the Porta del Passerello, from which an ideal route can begin through the village along the walls of S. Giorgio. On the slopes of the spur of rock on which stands Verucchio stands a Romanesque parish church while in Villa Verucchio it is worth visiting the Franciscan Convent: according to legend, the cenobio rises on the site where Saint Francis of Assisi would have planted a stick around which roots and leaves of a cypress. And the giant cypress, with all its ages, is still visible in the cloister.
Main photo from www.riviera.rimini.it
