Gabicce & its surroundings

Just 10 minutes away from Gabicce Mare, come and discover Gradara, located on a hill, at a height of 142 m.
This delightful medieval town is surrounded by walls dating back to the XIV century and dominated by the Fortress built by the Malatesta of Verrucchio family (1307- 1325). According to tradition, the Castle of Gradara was the setting for the passionate love between Paolo and Francesca from Rimini, referred to by Dante in the Divine Comedy. This makes Gradara a must-see place for couples!

Just 25 minutes from the Michelacci Grand Hotel, you can visit Pesaro, a town looking towards the sea and encircled by the San Bartolo hill to the North-West and by the Ardizio hill to the South-East. The most important landmarks of its historical center are the impressive Costanza Fortress, the Ducal Palace, the Civic Museums and the modern garden-city along the coast, with its long, straight and tree-lined avenues.
Pesaro offers many noteworthy artistic-musical attractions, and is indeed the hometown of Gioacchino Rossini, to whom the town theatre is entitled. The city also hosts a yearly film festival and the famous Rossini Opera Festival .

By departing from Gabicce Mare and traveling toward the hinterland, you will come to Urbino, one of the most beautiful towns in the Marche region.

Urbino is largely surrounded by walls and bastions; its narrow and steep streets host many monuments and tourist attractions. A symbol of the Italian Renaissance as well as the hometown of Raffaello and Bramante, Urbino still maintains the urban structure and many of the buildings from its golden season. It is one of the most important destinations in the world of art-related tourism, due to its history and its many monuments and artworks.
Urbino also has a highly attended University, with courses for foreigners, a Fine Arts Academy, a Graphic Design High school and the well-known “Book School”. Every year, in August, the town celebrates the Celebration of the Duke, a historical reenactment on the suggestive streets of the historical center.

San Leo is certainly worth visiting. A pointed rocky peak surrounded by steep slopes in the part of territory that descends from the Apennines to the sea; a succession of ancient houses between the superb Fortress and the gorgeous Bell tower; a place where history and legend, the sacred and the profane intertwine between the suggestive Castle and the Sanctuaries: you can find all this in San Leo.
This is where, around the year 1200, the dominion of the Counts of Montefeltro began; having later become the Dukes of Urbino, the family played a fundamental part in the development of Renaissance civilization.
When it no longer served its military purpose, the superb Fortress was transformed into a prison, and this is where Giuseppe Balsamo, an enigmatic and fascinating character better known as the Count of Cagliostro, spent his last days, before becoming the object of a vast literary production.

Just a few kilometers from the Adriatic Riviera, the oldest republic in the world extends across a 61 sq. km. surface.
Having maintained its status as a free commune even amidst the complicated Renaissance balances, San Marino was able to enter modern times without renouncing its secular rules and traditions. This is also where the hero of the two worlds, Giuseppe Garibaldi, came to seek refuge and protection.
A particularly suggestive view can be enjoyed from the three towers constructed as defensive bulwarks on the top of the Mount Titano.