Set your navigator for Parcheggio Piazza Ludovico Marini, Santarcangelo di Romagna.
From SP258, aka the Marecchiese, you drive mostly north on SP49, crossing the Marecchia River on your way to Santarcangelo di Romagna. The riverbed is wide, while the river, especially in the dry season, seems little more than a trickle. Ahead and to the left, at the top of Monte Giove (Mount Jupiter) you will see the city rising; at the top of the hill, the bell tower. Farther to the north is Via Emilia, the old Roman road. When Rimini was established in 268 BC, the Romans must have liked what they saw when they looked up at that hill.
Santarcangelo is a special place. They know how to party here, in winter (at Carnevale)
in the spring (balconi fioriti–balcony flowers)
in summer (calici di stelle–a festival of local wines)
in the early fall (festa di San Michele) and late fall (festa di San Martino)
Legend has it that the term “Sangiovese” originated in Santarcangelo. Centuries ago, so the story goes, Franciscan monks were proud of the wine they made. At a banquet one night for a special guest, receiving compliments on the wine, one of the monks stood up, raised his chalice, and said, “It’s the blood of Jove!” Sangue di Giove. Over time the term became Sangiovese.
Total red wine production in Romagna, much of it Sangiovese, is about 3.4 million gallons yearly. Whatever name it goes by in Italy–Brunello, Morellino, Prugnolo, or the endearing “Sangio” used by the locals–Sangiovese is a source of great pride and joy in the region.
You can see a lot of Santarcangelo in a couple hours or so. You might begin your walk in Piazza Ganganelli, at Caffè Commerciò. Here you can have coffee or aperitivo and admire the pinecone fountain, a Tonino Guerra design (the pinecone being a symbol of hospitality, prosperity, and abundance). Also, at the edge of the piazza, is the Arco Ganganelli, also known as the Arco dei Cornuti.
Go figure: the arch was designed and erected to honor a local boy made good: Lorenzo Ganganelli, who became archbishop and then Pope Clement X1X in 1769. Honoring a holy man, the Arco dei Cornuti also reminds those passing under it on November 11 to look over their shoulder at the horns hanging from the arch. If you see the horns move, you’ve been cuckolded. Everyone looks. Young and old, a furtive glance over the shoulder, a shrug, a nod and a smile. It’s tradition.
From Piazza Ganganelli walk up toward the bell tower. In the network of streets up there you’ll mostly see attractive doorways and windows, many houses with ceramic plates bearing inscriptions, on some plates a few words about the residents within, past or present; and often a short poem in Italian or the local dialect, some of them attributed to Tonino Guerra. From the walls up there, you’ll also have many views of the church, the city, and the Marecchia plain below.
My dear, you say you love flowers
and you pull them out by their roots
you say you love fish
and you eat them
My dear, when you say you love me, I’m afraid.
My house is so high
I can hear God cough
There’s a button museum in Santarcangelo. No joke. And the director, as you might imagine, is passionate about buttons. There is a tour of the Santarcangelo underground. Also the power and history of the Malatesta family is in evidence–a fortress where, we learned in a recent visit, the story of Paolo and Francesca may have played out to its sorrowful conclusion.
One more point: Like almost all Italian towns, large and small, there is market day in Santarcangelo. If you want the town to yourself, consider coming on a non-market day. On the other hand, if you have an eager and active camera finger and love the profusion of local color, market day in Santarcangelo is on Friday. And it’s a blast. What you want, they have. What you don’t want, they have a lot of that too.
