In the middle of Italy, where the Apennine Mountains stretch into the southern plains of the Po river, where the borders of Toscana (Tuscany), Umbria, Emilia Romagna and Marche meet, lies the medieval village of Verucchio, 10 km (6 miles) from the Republic of San Marino and 15 km (9 miles) from the coastal resort of Rimini.
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 If you mouse-click on this picture, you will see the coastline like from much nearer. |
A new complex with 7 apartments was built in 1997 at the foot of the
Malatesta castle, in a corner of the main square of this quiet village. Each apartment has a modern kitchen/living room, a large bedroom and a bathroom. Some apartments have an extra bedroom, in case you are staying with 4 or 5 people. All apartments have a telephone; in the lounge there is a televison for all the Italian terrestrial channels (but you can ask for a television set to be installed in your apartment). In this residence there are also laundry facilities. |
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Depending on the position of the rooms, one has a splendid panoramic view over many kilometers of villages, hills and the coast-line, with Rimini as the main town. Other rooms have a view of the Malatesta castle above, which is used on summer evenings for dance, music and son-et-lumière.
Price lists give you all the
financial details.
Verucchio is ideally located for travelling by car. You can make
day trips to adjacent regions of Toscana and Umbria, to the city of Ravenna
with its well-preserved mosaic churches and to the touristic castle town of
San Marino. More modesty is found in the nearby castle of San Leo.
Below you can find some details of these places of interest.
This village, at the top of the hill, serves you well in case you want to
learn about the rural life of an Italian village. Verucchio has a beautiful
open-air swimming pool (open May–September) with lawns, an ATM
(Automatic Teller Machine), a
handful of cafes and three restaurants.
(i) In the basement of the apartment complex you can dine stylishly with excellent
food at a reasonable price (nouvelle cuisine) in osteria/ristorante
La
Porta del Sasso (phone: +39 0 541 670827). The two other restaurants are:
(ii) the characteristic El Mastin Vecchio, with caves that stretch down to
below the village square, and (iii) the more simple La Rocca, a good
restaurant without being pretentious, offers a splendid view over the area due to its
high location.
Anyone who has seen Federico Fellini's film Amarcord (1973) knows
how Rimini must have looked in the 1930s. Nowadays, Rimini joins a
historic city with a long beach area. Tourists arrive and depart by
train or via the airport for national and international charter flights.
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RavennaWithin Rimini's own region, Emilia Romagna, you also find the city of Ravenna. This city is located 50 km (30 miles) north of Rimini. From Rimini the city can be reached easily, also by train. Ravenna is world famous for its splendid Byzantine mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries. These precious Byzantine churches have survived excellently the ravages of time. |
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| Is Byzantium too far back in history and are you interested in less ancient times? Then you can make day trips to the adjacent region of Marche and see for yourself how a 1000 years later Europe finds itself on the verge of a new era, which has its roots in this very part of Italy, with Urbino as the unequalled humanistic and renaissance centre. |  |
The 15th century Palace of the Dukes is eminent here. One particular duke, the Duke of Federico da Montefeltro, whose characteristic portrait painted by Piero della Francesca cannot be missed when visiting this town, was a great promotor to introduce Italy's society into the Renaissance. Urbino is only 30 km (20 miles) south-eastbound as the crow flies, but over the main road via Rimini and Pesaro (S.S. 16 and then the S.S. 423), the actual distance is 75 km (47 miles).
San Marino is of a completely different standard. This is an independent republic (and a tax paradise) situated inside Italy, that attracts many tourists, not only for its beautifully situated castle. From some of Verucchio's streets, you can spot its hill, so it is only a short trip to San Marino – which is worth it, as it offers you a nice day out for the family.
Of modest character is the nearby castle of San Leo. Once San Leo was Italy's capital, as early as cited by Dante Alighieri.
Finally, 200 km (125 miles) southward is located Perugia, very much worth a visit. This former Etruscan city, as usual located on a hill, is now the capital of the Umbria region. The quickest way to get there is to drive to Cesena via the S.S. 9 and then from there take the motorway E 45, heading for Rome.
| On the other side of the Apennine Mountains is the neighbouring region of
Toscana, with even more cities you must see: Firenze (Florence), Arezzo
(picture below), Siena (picture to the right) and Assisi.
Except for Assisi, the places mentioned may be reached by train (mind you,
it is a roundabout way via Bologna!). Although seen from Verucchio, the distances to these cities are not particularly large; however, it takes a lot of time, both by train and by car, to cross the Apennine Mountains. Therefore, it is advisable to visit these places on your way to Italy or on your way home.  |
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Urbino, San Leo and San Marino cannot be reached by train and only with difficulty by bus. However, at various addresses (in Rimini and other places along the coast, at the airports of Rimini and Bologna, but also nearer by, e.g. at Santarcangelo di Romagna) you can hire a car. In case you have traveled by airplane or train to Bologna or Rimini, it is advisable to hire a car for at least a couple of days when you intend to pay a visit to the above-mentioned places of interest.
Two coach companies take care of the local public transport from Verucchio to Villa Verucchio, which is located along the main road S.S. 258, and they will bring you further to Rimini or Novafeltria. You can find all the details in the timetable.
When you are going to drive by car to Verucchio, have a look at the route description that tells you how this village is best reached coming from the north or from the city of Rimini.
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For more information about the apartments, please contact (by e-mail, fax or phone, in English or Italian): Residenza Turistica CESARINA Attn. Mr. Mario Zaghini Via Bruno Brizzi, 3 47826 Verucchio (Rimini) Italy Tel./Fax: 00 39 0 541 679800 Mobile telephone: 00 39 0 335 6097469 Tel. (private): 00 39 0 541 670258. E-mail: zamazaghini@tin.it |
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