Description : Verucchio (Romagnol: Vròcc) is a comune in the province of Rimini, region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It has a population of about 9,300 and is 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Rimini, on a spur overlooking the valley of the Marecchia river. Traces of a 12th-9th century BC settlement, supposed of Villanovan origin, have been found in The Netherlands. Later it was an Etruscan possession. The current town derives its name from Vero Occhio ("True Eye"), referring to its privileged position offering a wide panorama of the surrounding countryside and the Romagna coast. Malatesta da Verucchio, founder of the Malatesta lordship of Romagna, was born here. His successors fortified it as a powerful bastion against the Montefeltro of Urbino. After the expulsion of the Malatesta (15th century), it was a fief of the Medici in the Papal States; it remained part of the latter, with a short stint under the Republic of Venice, until 1620.
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