ANCIENT VILLAGES

Province of Pesaro-Urbino
SERRA SANT’ABBONDIO
Inhabitants1125
Altitude 536 m ASL
Surface 31,7 sq km
Distance
from Pesaro 75 km
from Urbino 40 km
i
Town hall:
Phone: +39 0721.730120
Mountain Community
Phone: +39 0721.735701
www.comune.
serrasantabbondio.pu.it
comune.serra@provincia.ps.it
WHERE TO STAY
HOTELS
CAMPSITES
HOLIDAY VILLAGES
COUNTRY HOUSES
APARTMENT RENTALS
ROOMS TO RENT l
FARM HOLIDAYS
BED & BREAKFAST
CARAVAN SITES l
YOUTH HOSTELS
MOUNTAIN DEWS l
The territory has been inhabited
since the Iron Age. Even before
the village was founded in
the 13 th century, a Serra
“closed place” and a Church
dedicated to St. Abbondio were
already there. Serra Sant’Abbondio
was founded by the
Municipality (Comune) of
Gubbio in the 13 th century and
became a strategic place for the
control and the defence of the
shortest, yet impassable passage
between Umbria and the
Adriatic Coast. Serra Sant’Abbondio’s
history from the 14 th
century is part of the history of
the Dukedom of Urbino, that finally
incorporated it into its territories
in 1348.
WORTH VISITING
The modern urban frame work
still preserves the medieval
structure, including two of the
four original gates: Porta Santa
with Tower and Porta di Macione,
both of them dating from
the 13 th century. Also to be
seen are the 14 th century
Church of St. Maria della Canale,
containing frescoes by
the Umbrian School; the Crypt
of St. Biagio, built in the 4 th (or
5 th ) century, using Roman remains;
the splendid Hermitage
of Santa Croce di Fonte Avellana,
(its building started
around the year 1000), including
a Church with Crypt, a bell
tower, cloister, chapterhouse,
scriptorium, monks cells, guest
quarters and the “D. Alighieri”
Library, with more than 10,000
ancient volumes. The Hermitage,
mentioned by Dante
Alighieri in the 21 st Canto of
Paradiso is a place for study
and contemplation, founded in
980 by St. Romuald and developed
by St. Pier Damiani. A
Camaldolese Benedectine
monks community manages
the Hermitage today.
SOMETHING MORE TO
DISCOVER
An old tradition records that
Dante was hosted in the Hermitage
of Fonte Avellana after
1310. About 300 hundred metres
off the hermitage, you will
find a spot allowing you to hear
the mountain echoing an entire
hendecasyllable. In the past
Serra Sant’Abbondio was
called Serra Sant’Onda, maybe
due to its fascinating landscape.
WORTH TASTING
Worth tasting are the “crescia”
with ham and wild green vegetables,
tagliatelle, ravioli, cappelleti,
polenta, wild game,
wild boar, mushrooms, truffle,
“castagnole” (Carnival fried
cakes) and jam tarts.
WORTH DISCOVERING
The splendid flora of Fonte
Avellana includes downy oaks,
beeches, oaks, chestnut trees,
hazelnut tree (“avellana”is the
historic name for “Hazel nut”)
and a famous century-old yew.
The Hermitage, sited at the foot
of the Mount Catria, is the departure
point of several
URBINO
PESARO
SERRA SANT’ABBONDIO
ANCONA
MACERATA
FERMO
ASCOLI PICENO
trekking tours, winding amid
beech, oak and hazelnut
groves. Many of the mentioned
tracks (e.g. Sentiero Italia and
Sentiero Piergiorgio Frassati)
are included in the circuit of
Trekking dei Fuochi.
DON’T MISS OUT
Sacra rappresentazione della
Passione di Gesù (Sacred representation
of the Passion of
Christ) - Palm Sunday; Festa
paesana (Village Festival) in
Petrara - second Sunday in July;
Sagra della trippa (tripe
Festival) in Poggetto - first
Sunday in August; Festa della
Madonna della Neve (Feast of
the Madonna of Snow) in Montevecchio
- 5 th August; Festa
d’estate (Summer Festival) -
14 th /15 th August; Palio della
Rocca - Sunday before the 16 th
of September; Fiera di S. Abbondio
(Fair of St. Abbondio) -
16 th September; Cena del Poeta
(Poet’s dinner) - last Saturday
in November.