Serravalle

Serravalle is the largest of San Marino's nine castelli by population and the one that looks least like the tourist image of the republic: a modern town on the plain with the country's industry, its stadium and its commercial centre, and the medieval Castello Malatestiano in the old core with its tower. Most Sammarinese live and work down here rather than on the mountain. Around a third of San Marino's population lives in this one castello, which makes it larger than the capital several times over. The Malatesta held the castle here before it passed to the republic in the fifteenth century.

History

First mentioned in a document of 962, the town was called Castrum Olnani, later Olnano, the village of the elm trees, in the Middle Ages, and it joined San Marino in 1463 in the republic's last territorial expansion. Several houses collapsed in the Rimini earthquake of 16 August 1916 (Wikipedia, Serravalle, San Marino).

What to look for

• The Castello Malatestiano - the medieval core with its tower.
• The modern town - the country's industrial and commercial centre.
• The stadium - the national football ground.
• The plain position - the working part of the republic below the mountain.

When to go

April to October is the mild season. The town works year round. Football matches fill the stadium on the national calendar.

Practical notes

It is a modern working town and holds little of the character visitors come for. The medieval core is small. Facilities for visitors are limited.

Nearby

Domagnano is south, and Borgo Maggiore is southwest.

Key facts