Leaving the coast behind, visitors will find two treasures just waiting to be discovered. The Marecchia and Conca Valleys still preserve surprisingly natural countryside, alternated by villages and castles that guard a rich artistic and cultural heritage. These two valleys, which lie just a few kilometres from Rimini, have an exceptional visiting card, the Malatesta Seignory. The Malatesta were one of the most influential families between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and marked the history of Italy. In these valleys, they left behind an impressive artistic and cultural heritage. To start with, on a rocky spur sits the medieval village of Verucchio that is full of churches and convents and is where the Malatesta family originated. However, the village dates from even further back as it was the cradle of the Villanovan civilisation, which is recounted in one of the most beautiful museums in Italy (housed in Sant’Agostino Convent, tel. 0541.670222). The journey continues to two rocky spurs, each with its own castle, Montebello and Torriana, then to Santarcangelo, which is famous for its old town and its restaurants and taverns, and Poggio Berni. A must is the beautiful village of San Leo, with its famous fortress, parish church and cathedral. The entire Conca Valley is dotted with fortresses and fortified villages that once guarded the dangerous territory bordering the Duchy of Urbino. The valley’s most emblematic village is Montefiore, with a huge and extremely beautiful medieval fortress on its peak. The village of San Giovanni in Marignano hides a little jewel in the nineteenth-century Massari Theatre and just a short distance away are Mondaino, with its prestigious fossil museum, and Saludecio. The valleys and indeed the entire Riviera are dominated by the three castles of San Marino, they are the symbol of the oldest republic in the world that draws millions of visitors every year.