Mercatello sul Metauro, where flies the Bandiera Arancione (Orange Flag), that is a recognition of quality awarded by the Touring Club Italiano to small towns (population 15,000 or less) in Italy for excellency in tourism, hospitality and the environment, retains medieval features ; its walls are protected by the groove of two rivers. In Piazza Garibaldi stand the Collegiate Church, which still preserves the walls of the earliest Romanesque building, and the Romanesque-Gothic church of San Francesco, housing a fourteenth-century crucifix by Giovanni da Rimini and the tomb of Bartolomeo Brancaleoni, who was lord of Mercatello in the first half of the fifteenth century. Must see attractions are also the birthplace of Saint Veronica Giuliani,  the Romanesque bridge over the Metauro river, the small collection of Contemporary Art housed in Palazzo Gasparini, the Palazzaccio, the "Monte di Pietà", founded in 1516. The area of Mercatello sul Metauro is well known for its truffles, both black and white. The most remarkable events taking place in  Mercatello Metauro are: the Fair of St. Veronica (the first week of July) and the Palio of the Donkey (early July), the tournament between the four districts of the country including games, food tasting and a special festival dedicated to the much appreciated "tagliatella" (noodle).