The Fortress of San Leo located at the highest point of a rocky plate bordered by imposing vertical walls, the fortress represents the main architectural emergency of the entire village of San Leo. The origins of the fortified town are certainly pre-Christian, although the first documented news of a real settlement are linked to the presence of the holy Lion between the fourth and fifth centuries. The remarkable strategic position made San Leo a disputed place throughout the early Middle Ages: from the Goths to the Byzantines, passing through the Lombards (Desiderio built the first defensive garrison in masonry) up to the domination of the Church, attested from the mid-eighth until most of the tenth century.
 
    
    
    
     
  
  (Pesaro-Urbino) Marche
(Pesaro-Urbino) Marche 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  (Pesaro-Urbino province) Marche
  (Pesaro-Urbino province) Marche 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  The Fortress
The Fortress 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  La Verna (Arezzo - Tuscany)
La Verna (Arezzo - Tuscany) 
  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                             
                     
                     
                     
                 
                     
                 
             
            