San Leo was probably the best about [stop on] that trip. It's so beautiful and the tour was really interesting- Morgan, FYA 2018-19

San Leo is a town that no student could visit on their own, and they’ll see why on the way there. San Leo is an imposing rocky fortress, a small town high up (2000 feet above sea-level) with breathtaking views from all around. It is a part of the community of Rimini, in the Emilia Romagna region, visible from the fortress in San Leo, which is about a 45 minute drive from the seaside town. Since Roman times, the fortress of San Leo was used as a lookout point, and over the centuries was fought for by the Byzantines, the Goths, the Franks, and many others. In 1441 the young Duke of Montefeltro, ruler of Urbino, climbed the rocky walls and took the fortress over with his troops. Eventually it became the “vacation” home of him and his beloved wife, Battista. Years later it was overtaken again, by the Medici family in Florence. Eventually it lost its military role, and became a prison, and remained so until 1906.

Students visit the fortress and enjoy the views while stepping back in time to see every part of the imposing structure, from the prison down below to the towers up above. Afterwards they walk down into the small-town square and enjoy a leisurely lunch al fresco at a restaurant which has views of the fortress above and the valleys below, surrounded by distant hills and beyond, the Adriatic Sea.