Sartiano and Torricella: the Valmarecchia you don’t expect

Typical products, finds dating back to prehistoric times, castles and works of art immersed in nature.

Our journey in the discovery of Valmarecchia and the hamlets of the Municipality of Novafeltria continues.

Sartiano is characterised by a village with an exceptional panoramic position over the Marecchia Valley.
Here it is possible to admire the ancient castle, whose original nucleus rests on a hill at the entrance of the village, and the Church dedicated to San Biagio and dating back to the sixteenth century which has maintained the original layout, with a presbytery and a sixteenth-century wooden choir and a gilded
wooden tabernacle in the shape of a temple.

Inside the church there are four large seventeenth-century altarpieces, one of which in particular attributed to the young Cagnacci, depicts the transit of St. Joseph with the young Jesus and his mother Mary. In a niche is placed the statue of Santa Barbara, patron saint of miners, purchased thanks to a contribution of all the miners of Sartiano.

On the highest point of the village is located the Oratory of San Biagio which still receives popular devotion and, following tradition, on 3 February of each year there is blessed bread to be consumed to ward off sore throat.

 

Sartiano has also made itself known for an unmissable appointment with gastronomy, the Tagliatella Festival, during which one can savour delicious tagliatelle prepared by the town’s “azdore”, the local name for the managers of the household.

If one continues towards Sansepolcro, one finally arrives at Torricella, a village whose origins date back to the end of 200 BC.

This ancient village owes its development to Duke Federico da Montefeltro in 1474, who carried out several modernisation works of the Castle as evidenced by a stone coat of arms on the northern gate, one of the best preserved in the area.

Walking a few hundred metres from the town of Torricella in the direction of the village of Libiano and taking a path in the woods, one reaches a prehistoric sacrificial altar presumably used for pagan religious practices and later destined to a different use as a pestle or for collecting rainwater.
In the hamlet of Torricella there is the only Winery open to the public of the Municipality of Novafeltria, where after a wonderful and regenerating walk, one can stop for a tasting of wines and local zero-km products.

 

For info on the territory:
Tourist Information - UIT Novafeltria - Novafeltria
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, 2 - tel: (+39) 0541 845619, (+39) 0541 845620 urp@comune.novafeltria.rn.it