Mondaino: The mountain upon which deer once grazed became a fortified village and stronghold of the noble Malatesta family bordering the lands of their rivals the Montefeltros, dukes of Urbino.
Everything about the town tells of this past which is relived every year in an historical pageant called the " del Daino".
Its semicircular 19th C square is typical as are the narrow streets of the old town centre which lead to vantage points from which to enjoy the charming views.
Mondaino is placed on the top of a hill, at 420 m a.s.l. in the South-eastern end of the province of Rimini, on the border with Montefeltro; the area has a surface of about 19 sq. Km, the inhabitants ("mondainesi") are about 1,500.
The location of Mondaino has had a strong influence on its settlement and history, marked by a sequence of different rules between the XI and the XVII century.
The old town centre preserves the aspect from the sixteenth century, when the town walls, which are still today partially existing, were renewed and enlarged. The old town centre, which is narrow and longer on the crest, is crossed by an intermediate main street and two side ones, which start from Piazza Maggiore at the North-eastern end. In this square in the nineteenth century a scenographic semicircular colonnade, but on its back we can find the oldest buildings of the castle. the Malatesta fortress, dating back to the 20th century and nowadays seat of the Town Hall, a polygonal fortress and Porta Marina, which is still today the carriageable access.
About halfway of the main road the parish church of S. Michele Arcangelo is found, built in the eighteenth century and a little further along the road the large Clarisse Convent, dating back to the first period of the seventeenth century.
Mondaino is: 33 km far from San Marino, 30 km far from Rimini, 20 km far from Riccione, 15 km far from Cattolica, 19 km far from Pesaro, 25 km far from Urbino. The nearest A14 motorway exit, driving from the North, is Cattolica exit; while driving on the South it is Pesaro exit.