Sassocorvaro medieval village (Pesaro-Urbino - Italy)

The village of Sassocorvaro stands on a green hill overlooking the valley of the river Foglia. The heart of the village develops around the Rocca Ubaldinesca, symbol of Sassocorvaro.

The origins of the town are not certain but are presumed to date back to around the 10th century. In 1060 the first fortress was built with a chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist. At the end of the XIII century Sassocorvaro was subjected to the Brancaleone who dominated the town for over a hundred years until, after a bitter war lasting several years, Count Guidantonio da Montefeltro conquered it. Like many other towns in the area, Sassocorvaro was also subject to rivalry between the Montefeltro and the Malatesta, passing into the hands of one or the other contender several times. After the final victory of Federico da Montefeltro, Sassocorvaro was ceded to the noble Ottaviano degli Ubaldini who rebuilt the fortress that we can admire today.

The visit to the village starts right from the Fortress that marks the beginning of the ancient village. The massive walls and the mighty towers have been renovated recently giving the old splendor to the structure. Even the interior has undergone several conservative interventions and in its halls today are housed reproductions, life size, of the great pictorial masterpieces that in 1940 were rescued by the Nazis occulting them in this fortress (see below the paragraph Curiosity). The Fortress overlooks a square where there is a historic building now occupied by the city and a church that bears a large inscription "To God in memory of those who died for the country". From this square a road to the left descends to another square overlooking the artificial lake below offering a beautiful view, in the same square stands a civic tower with a square base, otherwise nothing interesting. Returning to the square in front of the Fortress, continue towards the historic center of the village, the road is narrow and on the left is a sundial and the alley continues with a series of houses of different invoice, height and color but all recently renovated. The journey is short before reaching the parish church flanked by a square-shaped bell tower. The small façade, which looks like the continuation of the external wall, faces a small square practically occupied by car parks. From here continue for just before reaching the end of the village and without discovering anything interesting.

During the Second World War, the professor Pasquale Rotondi, believed the Ubaldinesca Fortress, together with Urbino and Carpegna, a safe place to hide most of the Italian mobile artistic heritage. In Sassocorvaro more than 6500 works were deposited and hidden, thus succeeding in removing them from the sure predation on the part of the Germans. The Operation Salvage was coordinated by the professor, at the time superintendent of cultural heritage in Urbino, and will remain secret until 1984, the year in which, through extensive research, the whole affair will be brought back to light.

The village of Sassocorvaro is all about its Ubaldinesca Fortress, for the rest it does not offer much more to the tourist if not a beautiful view of the lake below and the surrounding hills.