The walls and the bell tower

Marche · Cesano valley

Sant'Andrea
di Suasa,
a castle in the hills

A village enclosed by a ring of walls that is still intact, with a single entrance arch, on a ridge overlooking the Cesano valley and, on clear days, the Apennines.

265 m above sea levelpart of Mondavio (PU)23 km from the Adriatic

The village

A lived-in castle above the valley

Sant'Andrea di Suasa is a castle-village on the ridge to the left of the Cesano river, 265 metres up and 23 km from the Adriatic coast.

The village is known for its mighty ring of walls, still intact, with a single entrance arch. Inside the walls stands the parish church of Sant'Andrea; all around are hills of vineyards and wheat, and the historic towns of the valley: Mondavio, Corinaldo, Pergola, Mondolfo.

The land gives Frattula salami, the Suasa onion and several DOC wines. The municipality of Mondavio, which the village belongs to, holds the Touring Club Italiano's Orange Flag.

Sources: Wikipedia, e-borghi, museionline. Account by M. S., a resident, in a Google Maps review.

Church of Sant'AndreaThe entrance archWalk along the wallsPiazza MatteottiPlan of the castleSANT'ANDREA DI SUASAN050 m© OpenStreetMap contributors
The oval of the walls, drawn from the village map: a single entrance arch and about 130 metres from end to end.
The castle from above
The castle from above
9th centuryfirst mention of the monastery of S. Andrea
~1100the castle walls
1612the church of Sant'Andrea is inaugurated
1 archa single way in through the walls
The church and bell tower
The church and bell tower

History

From the Roman town of Suasa to the monks' castle

The name recalls Suasa, a town perhaps of Greek or Etruscan origin, later of the Senones Gauls and finally a Roman municipium, on the Cesano plain. When Alaric, king of the Visigoths, destroyed it in 409, its people climbed the hills and founded fortified villages: Sant'Andrea and Castellone still keep the name “di Suasa” in honour of the town they came from.

It was the Benedictine monks, founders of the nearby abbey of San Lorenzo in Campo, who drained and farmed the valley. The monastery of S. Andrea already appears in the 9th century in the Codex Bavarus; the Castrum Sancti Andreae arose in the second half of the 10th century, and around 1100 the monks built the walls.

Then came the centuries of the lords: the Malatesta, the Della Rovere, Cesare Borgia, the Papal States. The castle changed hands many times, but the monks' walls stayed. In 1869 the municipality was merged into Mondavio; the village has kept its shape, an oval of houses closed by the walls with a single entrance arch.

Those born here tell the rest: Sant’Andrea was long a free commune, first led by a Prior, as a Benedictine centre linked to San Lorenzo in Campo, then by a lay mayor. With the unification of Italy it was merged into Mondavio; the village fought a long appeal to the government, cut short by the First World War. Since then it has been a hamlet, which explains the reviews that find it “empty”.

Sources: Wikipedia, museionline.

Through the centuries

Documents and maps

Historic plans show the village as it still looks today: an oval of houses closed by the walls, with its single gate.

Historic plan of the castle
Historic plan of the castle
The castle and its surroundings on an old plan
The castle and its surroundings on an old plan
The Codex Bavarus (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 44), which mentions the monastery of S. Andrea
The Codex Bavarus (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 44), which mentions the monastery of S. Andrea
The coat of arms of Giovanni Della Rovere
The coat of arms of Giovanni Della Rovere

As it was

Piazza G. Matteotti on an old postcard
Piazza G. Matteotti on an old postcard
The village on its hill, old photo
The village on its hill, old photo
The church on an old postcard
The church on an old postcard
Along the walls, old photo
Along the walls, old photo

Events

The Festa del Nino

Every January the village fills up: music in the lanes, fires lit in the square, the procession, long tables under the tents. The Festa del Nino, dedicated to the pig and the traditional cured meats of the Marche, reached its twenty-first edition in 2024.

Musicians in costume in the square
Musicians in costume in the square
The square on the evening of the festa
The square on the evening of the festa
The procession through the lanes
The procession through the lanes
Traditional music and costume
Traditional music and costume
In the January fog
In the January fog

Photos of the 2026 Festa: James Conrad Baker

21stedition in 2024
Januaryaround St Anthony the Abbot
Freeadmission
Pro Suasathe association behind it

Past editions

Sources: La Festa del Nino, ilturista.info, eventiesagre.it.

The hills

The gentle hills of the Cesano

From the walls the eye drops to the Cesano valley and climbs again to the Apennines. The landscape changes colour with the seasons: soft green in spring, the gold of wheat in summer, the red of the vineyards in autumn, fog and lit fireplaces in winter. You cross it on foot, by bike or by car, at an easy pace, along country roads, vine rows and olive groves.

Summer: wheat on the hills
Summer: wheat on the hills
The little church among the olives
The little church among the olives
Winter: the walls
Winter: the walls

Wine

Vineyard country

The hills around Sant'Andrea are vine rows as far as the eye can see. Within an hour's drive you meet some of the best-known appellations of the Marche, often tasted right at the winery, with the people who make the wine.

  • Verdicchio dei Castelli di JesiWhite, from Verdicchio grapes
  • Lacrima di Morro d'AlbaFragrant red, from Lacrima grapes
  • Bianchello del MetauroWhite, at least 95% Bianchello (Biancame)
  • PergolaReds, rosés and passito based on Aleatico
  • Rosso ConeroRed from Montepulciano grapes
  • Colli PesaresiIncluding the Sangiovese of the Pesaro hills
Vineyards in autumn
Vineyards in autumn
The village among the vineyards
The village among the vineyards

The wine to drink here: Terracruda

In Fratte Rosa, in the nearby hills, the Avenanti siblings make wine from native grapes and revive old local varieties: Bianchello del Metauro, Aleatico from Pergola, Sangiovese from the Colli Pesaresi. Next to the winery there is a farm stay among the vineyards, where food is cooked in terracotta pots.

terracruda.it

Life in Sant'Andrea

Village people, good food, wine and hills

Nobody comes here to rush from one sight to the next. You come to sit in the square, hear the village's stories from people born here, eat well and watch the light change over the hills. The sea, when you want it, is half an hour away.

Dinner at sunset along the walls

The people

Everyone knows everyone here. In summer people dine outdoors along the walls watching the sunset, and chat in the square in the evening; visitors are welcomed like family.

Skewers on the grill at sunset, facing the hills

The food

Country cooking from the Marche: local cured meats such as frattula, the Suasa onion, Casciotta d'Urbino PDO cheese and, in autumn, white truffle, the star of the national truffle fair in Pergola every October.

Beyond the arch

The villages

Mondavio and its Rocca Roveresca 4 km away, walled Corinaldo 8 km, Pergola and its Gilded Bronzes 13 km, UNESCO-listed Urbino 27 km. A different medieval village every day.

Marotta, an August evening

The sea

Marotta, Senigallia and Fano are about half an hour by car: at Marotta the beach is pebbly, towards Senigallia it turns sandy. For something truly spectacular, about 40 minutes away, there are Sirolo and Fiorenzuola di Focara.

Open in Google Maps

The hills from the window of the house
The hills from the window of the house

In my view

Sant'Andrea, told by someone who has a house here

Some places don’t need to promise you much. They only ask you to stop and look at them.

  1. All inside the wallsThe whole village is enclosed by its walls: it has not spread beyond them. You come in through the single arch, and it is a small, quiet medieval village surrounded by hills.
  2. The sunsetThe sunset from the western walls is spectacular. From the ancient red walls you look out over the landscape and, for once, accept that there doesn’t have to be something to do: you can simply be there.
  3. My tipGo to the tavern: it’s inside the walls, near the church, an authentic, family-run place that usually opens around 9:30 pm (hours may vary). It will become your second home. For a wine tasting there is Terracruda; in Fratte Rosa, Osteria! for an aperitivo or dinner at sunset, and Osteria Mamá.
  4. The peopleEveryone is like one big family. I tell those who come that they can count on the help of the villagers, friendly people: if you need a hand, they’ll give you one.
  5. The truthThere isn’t even a grocery shop, and the village is losing its people. For groceries we go to Famila in Mondavio; the nearest pharmacy is in San Michele al Fiume. And in the evening it is often windy: mind the doors and windows.
  6. The right amount of timeStay at least two weeks. Around you there are villages like Mondavio, Corinaldo and Mondolfo, hills full of views and, in summer, food festivals and village feasts everywhere: just follow the signs along the roads. For a different day out, the Frasassi Caves, best booked ahead.
  7. CuriosityThe better I know it, the more I want to understand where it comes from. I have looked for documents on its origins and for old maps, some of which were missing even from the archive.

— James Conrad Baker, owner of the Dimora con vista

What people say

Voices of those who have been here

★★★★★ 4.6 out of 5 · 147 reviews on Google Maps

“La grande bellezza – the great beauty”
Raimonds K.
“An Italy that now only exists in photographs”
Franco A.
“Silence rules here, with a unique view of Monte Catria”
Francesco S.
“So much love and belonging from those who know it and live it”
Federico M.
“The Festa del Nino is one of the must-sees of the area!”
Matteo R.
“Just one tavern, but what incredible charm!”
Eva S.
“Food and hospitality beyond every expectation”
Umberto B.
“The most beautiful village I know, where my grandparents lived”
Laura M.

The two faces of the village

“Walls all around, but a desert inside… not even a basic bar.”
Alessandro M., visitor, 2 stars
“A place where you can leave the key in the door… more alive than many places you have been.”
M. S., born and living in Sant’Andrea, 5 stars

They are both right. If you arrive in a hurry you find a quiet village with no shops. If you stay, you find out why the people born here don’t want to leave.

Short excerpts from public Google Maps reviews (November 2026), translated from Italian.

The village in pictures

Brick, vineyards and sunsets

Summer evenings in the square
Summer evenings in the square
Dinner at sunset along the walls
Dinner at sunset along the walls
The entrance arch
The entrance arch
The walk along the walls
The walk along the walls
In the evening
In the evening
Houses in the village
Houses in the village
Geraniums over the valley
Geraniums over the valley
Summer lights
Summer lights
Pink sky
Pink sky
An inner street
An inner street

Photos by James Conrad Baker and the house archive; some historic and village images come from material collected locally over the years. If a photo is yours and you want credit or removal, let us know in the village Facebook group.

A house with a view in the medieval village Double bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small sitting room Double bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small sitting room

Stay in Sant'Andrea

A house with a view in the medieval village

A panoramic house for two, with one entrance on the main street and one on the walk along the walls. In the evening the village comes alive in the village tavern; all around are villages, farm stays and wineries to discover.

  • 2 guests · 60 m²
  • Double bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and small sitting room
  • Overlooking the walls and the Cesano valley
  • Adriatic beaches about 30 minutes by car
Check availability

The community

Sant'Andrea, told by the people who live there

Since 2009 the Facebook group “Sant'Andrea di Suasa e Pianaccio” has brought together the online community of residents and friends of the village; the Pro Suasa association brings the village to life with the Festa del Nino and the year's events.

Village Facebook group The Festa del Nino

Thanks

Thanks to the Associazione Pro Suasa and the people behind the Festa del Nino, to the admins and members of the group “Sant'Andrea di Suasa e Pianaccio”, and to everyone who has collected photos, maps and documents about the village over the years. To learn more, read the original sources.

Sources

Photos

Village photos by James Conrad Baker; house photos from the listing. Historic images from the archive collected locally. Castle plan drawn from © OpenStreetMap contributors data. Have photos, memories or a correction? Share them in the village group.