Within about 35 minutes drive you can visit Cagli, Pergola, Senigalia, Jesi (Verdicchio wine), Frassasi (famous spectacular grottoes). Larger towns in less than an hour away on quiet local roads are Urbino (Old University and Palazzo Ducale), Pesaro (Rossini Festival), Fano (fresh fish and beautiful shops) and Ancona (shops, markets, a large port and plenty of sightseeing). Just a little further away are Gubbio, Cortona, Perugia and Assisi.
Common species around Belfiore are the house sparrow and its cousin the Italian sparrow. European serin, common starlings, goldfinches, magpies, great tits and blue tits are also seen regularly. In the ‘truffle’ woods behind Belfiore, you see goldfinches, garden warblers, blackcaps, as well as the less easily seen Mediterranean Sylvia species such as the Sardinian and Dartford warbler. The house martin flies about the villages around Montefortino and in the more mountainous regions, you may see the rock martin. Crows here are grey and black unlike ‘our’ black crow whose place is taken by the hooded crow. The jackdaw can be seen around every church tower.