There are places capable of leaving you speechless, arousing emotions that are difficult to describe in words but capable of imprinting themselves on the mind and heart, touching the deepest chords of one’s being. Panoramas, lookouts, viewpoints, views, which are not only imprinted in the film of our cameras or in the memory of our smartphones, but leave us with indelible memories. Romagna, naturally, also has some of these places; panoramic points where our mind can wander and grasp all its extreme beauty.
The departure is from San Leo, in the province of Rimini, where you can let your gaze run over the whole horizon, on the landscapes that inspired the great Piero della Francesca. The panoramic points that inspired the illustrious Renaissance painter for the background of some of his paintings are, in fact, hidden right in the hills of Montefeltro. Here you will find two of the so-called “Balconies of Piero”, i.e., the exceptional vantage points from which you can admire the landscapes depicted in his works.
The first is in Varco Biforca-Tausano and is located on Monte Gregorio to observe the backdrop of the Portrait of Battista Sforza, a work preserved in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, while the second is located just beyond the cliff of Monte Gregorio. Facing the sea, this point reveals the panorama that forms the background of the painting depicting St. Jerome and a Devotee, preserved in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice.
Moving towards Sant’Agata Feltria, we find a third balcony, precisely in Petrella Guidi, where it is possible to observe almost the entire landscape represented in The Baptism of Christ, preserved at the National Gallery in London. Beyond this point, however, it is the entire village of Sant’Agata that lends itself very well as a panoramic point. Its fairy-tale appearance and a castle that seems taken from the classic iconography of fairy tales, make it one of the most characteristic centres of Montefeltro, capable of offering splendid views and breathtaking landscapes.
The third stage then takes us to Bertinoro which, thanks to the splendid panoramic view that can be enjoyed from the central Piazza della Libertà, has taken on the nickname of “Balcony of Romagna”. The town is a typical example of a medieval citadel with a wealth of walls, towers and ancient houses and, from the top of Mount Cesubeo, the thousand-year-old "Rocca" (stronghold) dominates, a building dating back to before the tenth century, where Emperor Frederick Barbarossa stayed in 1177 with his court and militias, then becoming a bishop’s headquarters from 1584.
In the hinterland of the Province of Ravenna, where the first fertile hills of the Senio Valley of Romagna begin, you will find Riolo Terme. In the historic centre of the town, the mighty Rocca, built at the end of the fourteenth century by the Bolognese, immediately imposes itself on the visitor. With its three towers and the square “Maschio” tower, it is an interesting example of a military fortification that still preserves a bombard cannon dated 1474. And from here you can enjoy an exceptional view with the panorama of the Faenza hills and the ravines.
The last stop of our journey, finally, takes us to Ferrara and here, the exceptional panoramic point could only concern the symbol of the city, the Estense Castle. We climb the Torre dei Leoni, which was built even before the construction of the Castle itself, acting as a watchtower and garrison of the walls to the north of the city, and we will be inebriated by a magnificent 360° spectacle of the Ferrara landscape. We will thus admire from above the slow flow of city life, with the nearby cathedral, the markets of Piazza Trento Trieste, the internal courtyards of private buildings up to the horizon of the countryside that characterises the area.
