The castle developed around the V century A.D., whereas the construction of the fortress of  Petra Rubea dates back to the year 1000. Later, thanks to extension and embellishment works, occurred during the XI century, the castle became a charming fortress which proved it difficult to be besieged. It was around this time that among some of the warrior families inhabiting the castles clustered in the Conca and Apsa valleys, the Montefeltro lineage came about, later legitimated by Federico Barbarossa or Enrico VI, and titled “counts of the Empire” through investiture.
According to tradition, this was the birth place of Guido da Montefeltro, the progenitor of the family destined to have great importance and influence over almost all the territories of the surrounding area.
From here, the counts of Montefeltro expanded increasingly their possessions towards the lower Romagna and the higher Marca.
By 1228, they had already conquered a number of small and impregnable fortified centres, such as Montecopiolo, Montecerignone, Faggiola and the S. Arduini Castrum, withdrawn on a high cliff and less than a mile away from the castle of Pietrarubbia.
In the mid XIII century, from the Urbino Ghibelline side branched off the Guelph counts of Pietrarubbia; this caused fragmentations in the land tenure and divisions in each other’s territorial sovreignity, even though, both the branches, continued to bear the titles of counts of Montefeltro and counts of Urbino.
In this controversial situation the count of Pietrarubbia, Taddeo II, was born. He set off on a crusade to the Holy Land, after becoming podestà of some important cities, and in chief of the Church army, he fought against the Ghibelline army led by blood-related Guido da Montefeltro.
In spring 1281, his castle was destroyed by Uguccione della Faggiola’s troops who were on a quest for vengeance. At that time, the castle was situated in a territory influenced by the Malatesta’s ever growing expanding aims, while the Montefeltro of Urbino were expanding towards the Metauro and Umbria region.
This instability lasted for a few centuries, until, following the Malatesta’s defeat, the fortress of Pietrarubbia (as the majority of the fortifications in the Montefeltro area) would witness a time of political stability and calm, until the subsequent restoration by duke Federico (1463), who annexed it permanently to the dukedom of Urbino.
In 1470, the castle of Pietrarubbia, with other neighbouring castles, took part in the so called  “Provincia feretrana”, the Feretran province, a super-municipal territorial entity which corresponded to today’s Montefeltro.
This political-administrative situation would last well beyond the Urbinate State (1631) and its annexation to the Papal State (with the Urbino Apostolic Legation), only to dissolve at the time of  1808’s French invasion.
A few centuries later the hamlet was to be found in a state of disrepair.
At the beginning of the 70s sculptor, Arnaldo Pomodoro, who was born and raised in Montefeltro, not far from Pietrarubbia, brought there by a group of friends from Pesaro to visit the hamlet, felt the necessity to do something to “save” it. Hence, he decided to buy some buildings, together with his sister, Teresa and a few other friends and to take care of the renovation works, sensitising and stimulating local institutions.
This triggered in the mid 80s a slow reclaim action over the municipality’s properties, by establishing in Pietrarubbia an art school specialising on metal craft and arts recuperating a number of buildings located in the hamlet. 

Monuments