Emilia-Romagna · Rimini
Montegridolfo
A walled borgo of fewer than a thousand residents on the Romagna-Marche border, held alternately by the Malatesta and the Montefeltro through the fifteenth century.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Montegridolfo is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Città dell'Olio.
Subscribe and you get Montegridolfo's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 42 min from Rimini
- Population
- 996
- J9°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Montegridolfo sits on the Romagna-Marche border ridge, twenty kilometers south of Rimini and just inland from the Adriatic. A first castle is documented here in 1148, belonging to the Abbey of San Pietro of Rimini; the village took its name from the Gridolfi, a Rimini Guelph family that settled here during the conflicts with the Ghibellines. After a sack in 1288, the Malatesta rebuilt the walls in 1337 with four corner towers.
One tower survives, plus the bell tower over the gate. The borgo passed back and forth between Malatesta and Montefeltro through the fifteenth century, fell briefly to Cesare Borgia in 1502, then to Venice, then to the Papal States in 1509. The walled nucleus today holds barely 200 of the commune's 996 residents, with the rest in Trebbio, San Pietro, and Cabaldo. Olive oil from the surrounding ridges carries the Colli di Romagna DOP designation; the town joined the Città dell'Olio network on that basis.
How to get there
From Rimini (RMI), about 56 min by car.
Ancona (AOI) is about 1 h 8 min away.
By car from the center of Ancona 1 h 20 min or Bologna 1 h 50 min.
Coming by train into Rimini? Montegridolfo is about 40 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Rimini airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello di Montegridolfo
Walled fourteenth-century burg built by the Malatesta in 1337 with four corner towers, of which one survives along with the bell tower over the original gate.
Chiesa di San Rocco
Fifteenth-century church inside the walls, built in thanks after the village was spared a plague outbreak, with frescoes attributed to the school of the Marchigiana.
Borgo murato
Compact walled nucleus of stone houses, narrow streets and a single piazza, restored in the 1990s and inhabited by artisans and a small permanent population.
Museo della Linea dei Goti
Small museum on the Gothic Line, the World War II German defensive system that ran across this ridge in the summer of 1944.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Osteria dell'AccademiaRistorante
Osteria dell'Accademia holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Montegridolfo is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 996, with Montelabbate (7,055 people) 13 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Pesaro, a city of 95,266, is 22 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 996, down 4.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Pesaro, 22 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Cattolica, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,100 to €1,550 per m² to buy, €4.20 to €5.90 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 82% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Rimini airport (RMI), 56 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Bologna, 1 h 50 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Albania, Morocco and North Macedonia, against 9% across Italy. There are 221 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 33% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Rimini province ranks 51st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Pesaro, 14 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Rimini, 24 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Rimini, 24 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Emilia-Romagna spends about €2,500 a month, €560 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €604 a year for water, on the Emilia-Romagna average. In Rimini, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.36, a meal in a pizzeria €12.64 and a man's haircut €22.02.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
MALATESTA WALLS
Fourteenth-century circuit of walls and one surviving corner tower, built in 1337 when the Malatesta refortified the borgo after the 1288 sack.
COLLI DI ROMAGNA OIL
Olive oil from the surrounding hills, carrying the Colli di Romagna DOP and the basis for the Città dell'Olio membership.
BORDER BORGO
Contested through the fifteenth century between Malatesta and Montefeltro, briefly held by Cesare Borgia and Venice before passing to the Papal States in 1509.
Common questions
- What is Montegridolfo known for?
- Montegridolfo is a walled borgo of fewer than a thousand residents on the Romagna-Marche border, held alternately by the Malatesta and the Montefeltro through the fifteenth century.
- Where is Montegridolfo?
- Montegridolfo is a comune in the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna, at 290 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Montegridolfo?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rimini (RMI), about 56 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to Montegridolfo?
- About 1 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Montegridolfo?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Montegridolfo?
- Portico e San Benedetto, Guardialfiera and Corfinio.
- How many people live in Montegridolfo?
- 996 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Montegridolfo a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Montegridolfo is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Montelabbate, 13 min). The nearest city, Pesaro, is 22 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Cattolica, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 82% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 290 m
- Population: 996
- Surface area: 6.94 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Montegridolfo appears in
- The best hill towns that eat well within 90 minutes of RiminiNear Riminihill townwithin 90 mineats well6 towns · smallest 996 residents · closest 30 min away
- The prettiest villages that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnaeats wellprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 996 residents
- The best hidden towns with a serious restaurant in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnaserious restauranthidden7 towns · smallest 996 residents
- The best small towns that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnaeats wellsmall7 towns · smallest 742 residents
- The prettiest small villages within 90 minutes of RiminiNear Riminiwithin 90 minprettiest villagessmall7 towns · smallest 996 residents · closest 30 min away
- The best hill towns that eat well in Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagnahill towneats well8 towns · smallest 742 residents
Similar
Towns like Montegridolfo
What all six share with Montegridolfo: inland, away from the coast · under 1,000 people · hill towns
Our guide
Our nearest guide, 89 km away
Umbria: the towns, when to go, how to get there
The Umbria guide came out of the letter. Letters from the towns we visit. Free.
Read the guide: Two banks, no sea. 21 towns, the drive and train times, the months, where to eat and sleep.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.