What is Pennabilli known for?

The poet and screenwriter behind Amarcord and Nostalghia lived here from 1989 and remade the town as an outdoor museum he called the Landscape of the Soul. The Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati, opened in 1990, holds Apennine fruit varieties saved from extinction inside a walled garden below the Roccione. The Mostra Mercato Nazionale d'Antiquariato has run every July since 1970, bringing dealers from across Italy to the upper Marecchia.

When is the best time to visit Pennabilli?

May–Oct. May through October is the open season in Pennabilli. The Marecchia valley turns green in late spring; the air at 629 meters stays cooler than the Rimini coast forty-five kilometers downstream. July is the busiest month, with the Mostra Mercato d'Antiquariato pulling crowds into the centro storico and the Carpegna trails open for hikers. August can touch the high twenties but the evenings cool sharply. September and October bring chestnut and porcini and the upper valley's slower rhythm. November to April many of Guerra's outdoor installations are still visible but unguided, and most trattorie close mid-week. The Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati keeps seasonal opening hours posted at the town hall.

Pennabilli is a comune in the province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 47 kilometers from Rimini.

How do I get to Pennabilli?

From Rimini, Pennabilli is roughly 47 km by road.

Emilia-Romagna · Rimini

Pennabilli

A 629-meter Montefeltro borgo between the Roccione and the Rupe, remade as an open-air museum after 1989.

Known for

TONINO GUERRA
The poet and screenwriter behind Amarcord and Nostalghia lived here from 1989 and remade the town as an outdoor museum he called the Landscape of the Soul.
FORGOTTEN FRUITS
The Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati, opened in 1990, holds Apennine fruit varieties saved from extinction inside a walled garden below the Roccione.
ANTIQUES FAIR
The Mostra Mercato Nazionale d'Antiquariato has run every July since 1970, bringing dealers from across Italy to the upper Marecchia.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: papa Pio V, 5 May

Why come

Pennabilli sits at 629 meters on the western slope of Monte Carpegna, at the head of the upper Marecchia valley, forty-five kilometers south of Rimini, inside the historic Montefeltro region. The town grew from the union of two hilltop castles, Penna on the Roccione and Billi on the Rupe, formally joined in 1350 by a stone of peace placed in the marketplace between them. It has been the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Montefeltro since 1572, a status transferred from the older seat of San Leo.

Tonino Guerra, long-time collaborator of Fellini, Antonioni and Tarkovsky, settled here in 1989 and spread his outdoor museum, I Luoghi dell'Anima, across both the town and the valley below it, linking the two former castles and their surroundings into a single walked route. The garden of forgotten fruits opened the following year, and the antiques fair has continued each July since 1970, older than either. What the place adds up to is a town built twice: once by the stone that joined two castles into one commune, and once by the poet who joined the whole valley into a single museum without walls.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Pennabilli’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

What to see

Orto dei Frutti Dimenticati
Walled garden below the Roccione, its paths lined with sculptures and installations set among the rescued fruit varieties.
I Luoghi dell'Anima
Network of seven outdoor installations across Pennabilli and the Marecchia valley, conceived by Tonino Guerra between 1989 and 2012.
Roccione and Rupe
Two rocky outcrops that carried the medieval castles of Penna and Billi, joined into a single commune in 1350.
Cattedrale di San Leone
Cathedral of the Diocese of Montefeltro, whose seat was transferred to Pennabilli in 1572 from the older episcopal town of San Leo.
Mostra Mercato Nazionale d'Antiquariato
Held in the centro storico, drawing dealers who set up stalls through the old streets for the duration of the fair.

The slow-trip planner

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Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Food Gardenfood festival
usually held in August. il Resto del Carlino - Cosa Fare

Living here

Population 2,623
Off the beaten pathi
Pharmacy: none mapped
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Rimini, 1 h 17 min drive
Regional capital Bologna, 2 h 2 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 629 m
Population: 2,623
Surface area: 69.8 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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