Emilia-Romagna · Rimini
San Giovanni in Marignano
A walled Conca-valley borgo, granary of the Malatesta state, where the Notte delle Streghe has marked the summer solstice since 1988.
Known for
MALATESTA GRANARY
Over two hundred underground grain pits beneath the streets, the cereal reserve of the Malatesta state from the fifteenth century onward.
NOTTE DELLE STREGHE
Summer-solstice festival held since 1988 around the legend that witches stopped here on their journey to Benevento on Saint John's Eve.
WALLED CASTRUM
Rectangular Malatesta-plan castrum with fourteenth-century walls, two surviving gates and the original axial street layout in the Conca plain.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J27°
- J30°
- A29°
- S25°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Giovanni Battista, 24 June
Why come
San Giovanni in Marignano sits on the low Conca-valley plain, five kilometers inland from Cattolica and twenty kilometers south of Rimini. Ravenna monasteries reclaimed the marshy ground in the twelfth century, and from the late thirteenth century the village became the principal grain reserve of the Malatesta state. More than two hundred fosse del grano survive beneath the centro storico, underground pits dug along the main streets under the shelter of the medieval walls, used from the 1400s onward for cereal storage.
The Malatesta-period walls are still legible in long sections. The town gives onto the legend of Saint John's Eve: witches were said to pass through here on their summer-solstice journey toward Benevento. Since 1988 the Notte delle Streghe in late June has filled the borgo with reenactments, fire rituals, and crowds from across the Riviera, marking the opening of the Romagna summer.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written San Giovanni in Marignano’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.
How to get there
From Rimini (RMI), about 38 minutes by car.
Ancona / Pescara (AOI) is about 55 minutes away.
By car from the centre of Ancona 1h 8m or Bologna 1h 32m.
Coming by train into Rimini? San Giovanni in Marignano is about 22 minutes away by road.


What to see
Centro storico fortificato
Walled medieval nucleus on the rectangular Malatesta plan, with surviving sections of fourteenth-century walls and two gates on the main axis.
Fosse del grano
Over two hundred medieval grain pits beneath the streets, dug from the fifteenth century onward to store cereal as part of the Malatesta granary system.
Chiesa di San Pietro
Eighteenth-century parish church on the main piazza, with a wooden crucifix from the school of Donatello and a Renaissance baptismal font.
Teatro Massari
Late-nineteenth-century horseshoe-plan theatre in the centro storico, restored in 1996 and active with a small annual prose and music program.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where San Giovanni in Marignano fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 9,408
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Rimini, 38 min drive
- Regional capital Bologna, 1 h 32 min drive
Common questions
- What is San Giovanni in Marignano known for?
- San Giovanni in Marignano is a walled Conca-valley borgo, granary of the Malatesta state, where the Notte delle Streghe has marked the summer solstice since 1988.
- Where is San Giovanni in Marignano?
- San Giovanni in Marignano is a comune in the province of Rimini, in Emilia-Romagna, at 29 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to San Giovanni in Marignano?
- Rimini (RMI), about 38 minutes by car.
- How long is the drive from Ancona to San Giovanni in Marignano?
- About 1h 8m by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Giovanni in Marignano?
- Best in Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and January the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in San Giovanni in Marignano?
- The town keeps its patron saint's day: Giovanni Battista, 24 June.
- Which other towns are like San Giovanni in Marignano?
- Fontanellato, Busseto and Montagnana.
- How many people live in San Giovanni in Marignano?
- 9,408 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 29 m
- Population: 9,408
- Surface area: 21.37 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.
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