San Leo

The old name of the town was Montefeltro, corruption of Mons Feretrius, linked to a Roman settlement that rose around a temple dedicated to Jupiter Feretrio. At the end of the 3rd or beginning of the 4th century, they say that, a little history and a little legend, that two Christian stonecutters arrived from Galmazia, probably to escape the works at the port of Rimini following the persecution of Diocleziano, by the names of Leon and Marino. Both rapidly diffused Christianity in all of the surrounding regions and established the two primitive churches, respectively Marino on Mount Titano, that which today is at the center of the Republic of San Marino and Leon on Mount Feretrium. Both were later made saints. Such was born the Montefeltro dioceses, for which Leon is considered the first bishop, even if the true dioceses institution was born some centuries later, and the fortress named after the saint while the name of Montefeltro extends to the surrounding region.
In a strategic position, at the border between the Marches and Romagna, San Leo, like the other major Italian historic centers, had a troubled past, passing from the Goths to the Byzantines, to the Lombards, to the Franks, whose king Pipino gave it the Church; under Frederick I it became feud of Montefeltro, and except for a brief period in which it was seized by the Malatesta di Rimini, it remained as such until the beginning of the 16th century, when the dynasty became extinct. It was then passed to one of the Rovere, then to the Medici, thus to the Florentine Republic, then again to the Rovere until 1631, the date in which this dynasty became extinct and the dukedom was transfered to the direct dominion of the Church.
The urban center rises in an elevated position on a mighty rock formation with overhanging rock-faces, which make it an impregnable fortress and... an extraordinary panoramic location, in the middle of the valley of the Marecchia River.
The center of the medieval city rises around the Parish Church, constructed in the Carolingian era and re-modernized in the Romanesque era, and it is constructed from the Cathedral, completely renovated in 1173 in Romanesque-Lombard style and united to the bell tower of probably Byzantine origin, Palazzo Vescovile (Bishop's Palace), the residence of the Canonici, and other buildings realized during the Montefeltro dynasty, stabilized San Leo in 1100.  Many buildings have undergone numerous transformations, especially during the Renaissance era.
At the peak of the rocky spur and distanced from the built-up urban area, rises the powerful fortress, which strongly characterizes the appearance of San Leo.