Like a large ship with its tower-flagpole, sailing over rolling hills, this is one of the fortifications which guarded the hills between the Metauro Valley and the Cesano Valley, some 20 km from Fano.
The ancient fortress was built in an area in which villas and farms had been established as early as Roman times. Subsequently, during the Medieval period, the entire area became fortified. It was ruled by the neighbouring town of Mondavio until 1531, when it became independent, governing also five surrounding castles (Rupoli, Montebello, Villa del Monte, Sorbolongo e Reforzate). In 1571, Duke Guidubaldo II Della Rovere appointed the architect Filippo Terzi to rebuild the entire town. Terzi was responsible for the building of the austere Palazzo Comunale, or town hall, with its pointed clock tower, the elegant Porta Nuova gateway, the Palazzo Della Rovere (belonging today to the Canestrari family), with entrance and window frames decorated with stone crests, and the Church of the Resurrection (Sant'Ubaldo), which was consecrated in 1606 and conserves several interesting paintings of the same period, including a fine "Annunciation" (1608) by Antonio Cimatori, known as 'Il Visaccio'. The church also has a fine organ built by Gaetano Callido in 1786. Another church is that of Sant'Antonio, which contains an "Adoration of the Magi" of 1648.
In the nearby hamlet of Madonna del Soldato there is a small chapel with a metallic structure known as the Altar of Peace. This is a place of pilgrimage for veteran soldiers due to the Italian flag here which is stained with the blood of soldiers who died in war.