Terra del Sole

Terra del Sole is a real jewel in the heart of the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines, boasting an important historical, cultural, food and wine and hiking heritage, attributable to the development and the great role that the town had starting from the Middle Ages.

A Renaissance town centre taking its name from the sun, a fortified “ideal town”: this is Terra del Sole or "Heliopolis" (City of the Sun), a wonderful example of the new urban model developed in Italy in the 16th century, based on the theories and experiences of military engineers.

In 2005 Terra del Sole obtained the prestigious acknowledgment of tourist-environmental quality as an "Orange Flag Village", a brand with which the Italian Touring Club certifies inland municipalities that stand out for their offer of excellence and quality hospitality.

Conceived as a “town-fortress” and not only as a fortress, this beautiful Renaissance citadel amazes visitors at any time of the year.

Built in 1564 under the patronage of Cosimo I De' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to guard the border with the Papal State, according to the urban canons of the time, which were based on a harmonious respect between space and volume.

The ancient walls, which extend for more than 2 km, preserve the charm of the fortress-city intact, with the buildings arranged with symmetrical regularity in a rare example of military architecture.

You can admire the Captain of the Artillery palace in defense of the Florentine village and that of the Governor, in defense of the Roman village, the central Piazza d'Armi, a true "urban navel" according to the scheme of the "city on a human scale" traced by Francesco di Giorgio Martini. The two most important city buildings overlook it: the Church of Santa Reparata and, opposite, the Palazzo dei Commissari or Palazzo Pretorio, as if to underline the two powers that preside over orderly civil life.

City plan

The Praetor’s Palace houses the Museum of Man and the Environment, which explains the citadel’s origin and development. Noteworthy is the room of the criminal court, which is richly decorated with frescoes representing the coats of arms of the Grand Duke’s Commissaries who governed the Tuscany-Romagna province for over two centuries.

Terra del Sole, thanks also to the territory that surrounds it, offers numerous excursion possibilities, with walking and cycling routes in nature, in sites of historical, geological and naturalistic interest.

On the first Sunday of September, the ‘Palio di Santa Reparata’ is re-enacted, with more than 300 people of the historic districts dressed up in 16th century costumes. The town is transformed: painted districts, palaces and castles decked out with flags, squares enlivened by merchants, salesmen, strolling jesters and the changing of the guard. Parades of representatives of the districts, contestants of old crossbow competitions and tug-of-war, musicians and flag-wavers.

At approximately 2.5 km from Terra del Sole stands a fortress with the same name as the hill: Rocca di Monte Poggiolo, from which you can enjoy a wonderful view of Romagna down to the Adriatic sea. The first Florentine fortress with a rhomboid-plan designed by Giuliano da Maiano (1471), it lost its importance at the end of the 16th century, after the foundation of Terra del Sole, which, being fortified, was a more suitable defense against full-fledged artillery.

The centre of Terra del Sole naturally continues toward the town of Castrocaro, home of historic baths.