Frontino, stone and woods between Carpegna and the Montefeltro
Frontino, one of the smallest villages in the Marche, clinging to the Apennines between Carpegna and Monte Montone: stone, woods and silence.
Foto: Toni Pecoraro (Public domain) — Wikimedia Commons
There are villages that don't ask to be photographed, and Frontino is one of them. Clinging to a rocky spur in the hinterland of Pesaro and Urbino, it has a few dozen inhabitants and is among the smallest municipalities in the Marche. Its is an essential Montefeltro: stone houses that blend with the rock, a main street you can walk in a few minutes, and beyond the roofs the rounded peaks of the Apennines. Here you'll find no queues or lines at the restaurants, but the tangible sense of having stumbled upon a place that time has left in peace.
The village
The village lets itself be explored slowly, on foot, because there is no other way. You wander among narrow alleys, look out from the natural viewpoints that open over the valley of the Mutino river and reach, just outside the built-up area, the restored old mill that recalls the farming vocation of these lands. It is a landscape of ridges, oaks and broom, dominated in the distance by the bulk of Monte Carpegna, a mountain dear to those who love slow cycling and little-trodden trails.
Around the area
Frontino is a discreet base for those who want to get to know the Montefeltro while avoiding the more popular destinations. From here you can quickly reach other small centres of the area and the trails of the Sasso Simone and Simoncello Park, where the woods are dense and encounters rare. It is the kind of nature that invites you to slow down: you walk, you listen to the wind, you stop to look.
How to experience it
The right way to experience it is the respectful one: sleep in the village or nearby, eat in the few local taverns, do your shopping from the valley's producers. Visiting a place like this also means helping it stay alive, without distorting it. Frontino offers no sensational attractions: it offers the rare privilege of silence, and it must be cherished.
Related guides: Hidden medieval villages in Italy: gems far from the crowds · Where to go at Easter without crowds: villages and weekends in lesser-known Italy · The April 25th and May 1st long weekends: 13 villages to visit before high season.
Getting there
You arrive by car climbing up the Montefeltro hinterland: from the north you exit the A14 at Rimini and pass through San Marino, Mercatino Conca and Carpegna, which is a few minutes from the village; from the south you exit at Pesaro and follow the SS423 state road inland. From Urbino too it is easily reached via Urbania and Sant'Angelo in Vado. The reference airports and stations are those of the Adriatic coast, between Rimini and Pesaro.
Practical guides for Pesaro
Practical info
When should you go to Frontino?
The best months are April, May, June, September and October, when there are fewer people.
Are there a lot of people in Frontino?
Frontino is almost deserted compared to the more touristic destinations.
Where exactly is Frontino located?
Frontino sits in Frontino (Pesaro and Urbino), Italy.
Part of the complete guide
How to get there
- 🚆 Nearest station: Santa Fiora ~28 km as the crow flies
- ✈️ Nearest airport: Aeroporto internazionale Federico Fellini RMI ~37 km as the crow flies
Nearest points as the crow flies (source OpenStreetMap): actual times depend on the roads, often mountain ones.
