Novafeltria

Exploring one of Italy’s oldest mining areas

A few kilometres from Rimini, in the flat heart of the Valmarecchia, lies the pretty village of Novafeltria, known as Mercatino Marecchia until 1941. The medieval-looking old town with its Art Nouveau buildings offers the perfect opportunity for a day of relaxation and good food. 

The small town surrounds the large Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, overlooked by the 17th-century Palazzo dei Conti Segni and the Oratorio di Santa Marina, a Romanesque church built in 1191 that is open to visitors and accessible by climbing a small flight of steps. On the outskirts of the old town, you can explore the old mills that ground grain and provided electricity to the entire valley.

If you want to visit one of the few Italian museums dedicated to industrial archaeology, in the hamlet of Perticara you can visit “Sulphur”, a mining history museum housed in the former Certino Sulphur Works.