Grand Tour of Emilia Romagna & San Marino - the 5 Senses 2026-27

San Marino, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
San Marino and Mount Titano were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. According to UNESCO, San Marino is “an exceptional testimony to a living cultural tradition that has endured for 700 years.” Art is the most tangible expression of this cultural heritage: the perfectly preserved works and monuments on Mount Titano tell the entire story of this ancient Republic. Chief among them are the three towers that rise majestically, symbolizing this historic city-state that has always defended its freedom and independence.
There is no shortage of beautiful churches, palaces, and squares, such as Piazza della Libertà, from which the view over the entire valley is enchanting, as well as museums where visitors can explore both the past and the present of San Marino. The country is also a small shopping paradise, offering something for every budget.
The city’s symbol is the Three Towers, built about ten centuries ago for defensive purposes and connected by a highly scenic pathway. The first two are larger and can be visited inside, while the third is not open to the public and can only be seen from the outside. The first tower, known as Guaita, is the largest and stands directly on Mount Titano without foundations. From here, the views are breathtaking: on one side, the Romagna Riviera; on the other, the second tower. The second tower, Fratta, stands at the highest point of Mount Titano and offers magnificent views over the lush green valleys below. The cliffs are sheer and dramatic, and from the top it feels as if you are suspended in the sky. Inside, it houses the Museum of Ancient Weapons.
The heart of San Marino’s political life and history, the Public Palace, rises on the so-called “Pianello,” or Piazza della Libertà. At its inauguration, the ceremony’s speaker was the poet Giosuè Carducci.

Ravenna, Byzantine mosaics and contemporary art.
Ravenna boasts no fewer than eight monuments designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among the most famous are the Neon Baptistery, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, and the Basilica of San Vitale. The latter is especially renowned for the stunning mosaics decorating its vaults and chapels, while the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia features a dome ceiling designed like a starry sky. These are just some of the city’s most celebrated treasures. Beyond them, visitors will discover a lively atmosphere—especially in the revitalized docklands district—and, above all, a deep passion for contemporary art and creativity in all its forms.

Forlì: an underrated example of Rationalist architecture
With its grand squares and elegant palaces, the center of Forlì is dominated by arcades, statues, and buildings that represent some of the finest examples of Rationalist architecture in Italy, a movement that developed between the 1920s and 1940s. Its main square, Piazza Saffi, is notable for its vast size (around 11,000 square meters) and for the presence of imposing historic buildings from different periods, including the medieval Basilica of San Mercuriale, the 15th-century Palazzo Albertini and Palazzo del Podestà, and the distinctive 1930s Post Office building.
In the past decade, the city has also gained prominence thanks to major international exhibitions hosted at the San Domenico Museum Complex.

San Le, one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in Italy,” sits on a rocky spur overlooking the entire Valmarecchia valley, from which the outlines of San Marino and the Adriatic coast can clearly be seen. The origins of the Fortress of San Leo remain uncertain. It was contested between the Malatesta and Montefeltro families until the mid-15th century, when Federico da Montefeltro rebuilt it, making it even more impregnable. It later passed to the Borgia, then again to the Montefeltro, then to the Della Rovere family, and finally to the Papal States in 1631.
The village is perfectly preserved and offers an atmosphere from another time. The architectural beauty of the fortress—seemingly rising directly from the rock that supports it—is rivaled only by the fascination surrounding its most enigmatic “guest”: Count Cagliostro.
After passing to the Church, the fortress was used as an Inquisition prison, where heretics and unbelievers were punished. Today, it houses a museum of torture instruments, including the garrote, the stretching bench, and confession chairs.
Giuseppe Balsamo, better known as Cagliostro, died here after four years of imprisonment in a specially built cell known as the “cagliostrina” or “well cell”: a trapdoor-like chamber of just two square meters, with a single opening in the ceiling and only one source of air through a small window. At least, however, it offered a remarkable view. After escaping imprisonment in the Bastille and later being confined in Castel Sant’Angelo, he spent the last four years and five days of his life here, practically walled in alive.

Castell’Arquato, located in the province of Piacenza along the backbone of the Emilia region, feels like stepping into a time machine. Entering the village, it seems as though time has stood still. Its medieval structure remained intact until the early 1950s.
This timeless quality is precisely what makes it one of the most visited places in the region. Its cultural landmarks include the Palazzo del Podestà, the Visconti Fortress, the Collegiate Church, and many others that appear almost untouched despite the passing centuries.
A symbol of local tradition is the production of DOC wines, including Gutturnio, Bonarda, and Barbera.

The Labirinto della Masone, the largest in the world, in Fontanellato.
“When Minos built his Labyrinth, which was a prison, he had dark and cruel intentions; I imagined a gentler equivalent, one that would also be a garden, where people could wander, occasionally losing their way, but without danger.”
Publisher, bibliophile, collector—Franco Maria Ricci was above all an aesthete. In 2015, on his estate in Fontanellato, he opened to the public his final, extraordinary creation: the largest maze in the world.
He created it both out of a lifelong passion (“As a child I loved labyrinths. Then they faded away and, at a certain point, came back”) and to fulfill a promise made decades earlier to Jorge Luis Borges, the great Argentine writer who directed a publishing series for Ricci.
The Labirinto della Masone was created over twelve years by planting 200,000 bamboo plants across eight hectares, ranging in height from 30 centimeters to 15 meters and belonging to twenty different species. It is a surreal yet fascinating place, designed for visitors to lose and rediscover themselves among forks and dead ends.
Ricci drew inspiration for the maze’s design from Roman villa and bath mosaics, while its eight-pointed star shape recalls Palmanova, a perfect example of a Renaissance fortified city. The buildings within the complex were designed by architect Pier Carlo Bontempi, inspired by neoclassical architects of the French Revolution such as Boullée, Ledoux, and Lequeu, as well as the Italian Antolini. All structures are built using handmade bricks typical of the Po Valley.
The maze is part of a broader cultural project that includes a publishing house atelier, a library with 15,000 art volumes, and a museum displaying 500 works from the 16th to the 20th century, including paintings by artists such as the Carracci, Cambiaso, Wildt, Ligabue, and Savinio.

Sabbioneta, the “ideal city” of the Gonzaga family, is a true model of Renaissance urban planning. In just over a century, it was transformed from a small fortified village into a city built according to Renaissance principles.
Vespasiano Gonzaga promoted its construction based on proportions and ideals of harmony symbolized in Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Between 1556 and 1591, he created a unique city distinguished by its modern urban planning, its palaces, its social structure, and the prestige of his dynasty.
Every building, street, and bastion reflects the culture and ambition of its prince. Sabbioneta appears as a perfectly preserved six-pointed star with bastions at each corner. The city is accessed through two main gates: Porta Vittoria to the west, the oldest, and Porta Imperiale to the east, opened in 1579 and clad in marble.
In 1544, Gonzaga ordered the complete reconstruction of what had once been a modest fortified settlement. Following Vitruvian principles and military architecture, the city walls were built, still enclosing Sabbioneta in a hexagonal layout with strong bastions. At its center lies a carefully planned urban grid aligned along the axis that still bears the Duke’s name.
The only deviation from strict geometry is the recess at today’s Piazza Castello, due to the decision to preserve the medieval fortress (later demolished in 1794). This stands as a vivid example of the city’s harmonious and rigorous design.
Stand in the center of the square, and your gaze will fall rhythmically along the arcaded streets in all directions. The perspective leads to the façade of the Ducal Palace and the profile of the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, with its elegant yet understated façade in white and red marble.