Castello di Montefiore, Medieval castle in Montefiore, Recanati, Italy.

Castello di Montefiore is a medieval fortification near Recanati with a central tower rising about 40 meters and defensive walls stretching roughly 176 meters. The structure stands beside the road connecting Osimo to Montefano.

At the end of the 13th century, the Commune of Recanati built a castle here to check the expansion of its rival Osimo, and the tall central tower served to spot and signal attacks. Throughout the 15th century the complex was enlarged and strengthened: the great central keep was raised in 1429, and a plaque over the gate of the cassero records a wider intervention in 1467 by the duumviri Antonio Politi and Tommaso Gabrielli. In 1486, while the papal governor of the Marca Fermana fought Boccolino di Guzzone, who had seized Osimo, the castle became his headquarters and took its final defensive form: the walls were consolidated, the keep rebuilt to its present 40 metres and the rivellino erected to resist firearms. Repairs were ordered in January 1492.

The fortress appears in frescoes painted by Matteo Tassi from Perugia in 1889, which hang in Recanati's Town Hall. This artistic record shows how deeply the structure remains part of local memory.

The castle reopens to the public on 11 and 12 April 2026 with an inaugural celebration, following restoration campaigns begun in 2000. It stands along the road from Osimo to Montefano, about 9.11 km from the centre of Recanati, and its 40-metre mastio is visible from Recanati, Osimo and the surrounding hills.

From its strategic position, views reach toward the Adriatic Sea and Monte Conero, revealing why this location commanded important trade routes of its time. Such distant sightlines allowed defenders to track movement across vast territories.