Montefalco is a historic small hill town in

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, Italy, with a population of 5,581 in August 2017. It has been settled since pre-Roman times, and retains many of its historic buildings. From 1446 to 1861 it was part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Montefalco DOC is a regulated geographical area due to its red grape wine production, including the highly localized Sagrantino grape variety. The town's museum is in a former church, which has a

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

cycle on the life of St. Francis by the Florentine artist Benozzo Gozzoli (1450–1452).

History

The town has been continuously inhabited since the times of the

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic peoples, Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the Regio VI Umbria, ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were sett ...

. It has been under the successive rule of the Romans, followed by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, being called Coccorone in the Middle Ages. In 1249 it was sacked by Frederick II, but was quickly rebuilt, and began being known by its modern name. Since the 13th century it had been a free ''comune ''under the rule of local nobles and merchants, but later, as with many other Umbrian locales, the comune gave way to government by a ''Signoria'' — in this case, that of the Trinci from the nearby

Foligno Foligno (; Central Italian, Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennine Mountains, Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clit ...

(1383–1439). In 1446 it fell under the rule of the

where it remained until the unification of Italy in 1861. St. Clare of Montefalco, sometimes known as St. Clare of the Cross, was born in Montefalco and died there in 1308.

Monuments and sites of interest

Religious architecture or sites

Montefalco today has several churches in Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles. *'' San Francesco'': now the town's museum, and an important museum in Umbria. The church is notable for its fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis, by the Florentine artist Benozzo Gozzoli (1450–1452). Other artists represented in the museum include

Perugino Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...

, Francesco Melanzio, Pier Antonio Mezzastris, Antoniazzo Romano and Tiberio d'Assisi. *'' Sant'Agostino'' *'' Santa Chiara'': sanctuary built in 1615, it rises adjacent to the Franciscan monastery linked to this local saint, and now includes the ''Chapel of the Holy Cross'', the apse of the former ''Chiesa di Santa Croce'' with 14th century frescoes on the life of Chiara of Montefalco *'' Santa Illuminata'' *'' San Fortunato'': built in the 4th century over the tomb of Fortunatus of Spoleto and renovated in the 15th century. It has frescoes by Gozzoli and Tiberio d'Assisi.

Secular architecture or sites

The 13th century ''Palazzo Comunale'' ("Town Hall") has a mullioned window from the original edifice and a 15th-century portal. Also notable are the gates in the walls, including ''Porta Sant'Agostino'', ''Porta Camiano'' and ''Porta Federico II''.

Wine

The comune of Montefalco and a small area of the comune of Bevagna constitute the regulated geographical area for Montefalco wines. Every year around Easter, the town sponsors a major festival called Settimana Enologica — or Wine Week — where visitors can enjoy the principal wines produced in the area including the comparatively simple red table wine, Montefalco Rosso, the more complex

DOCG The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

red wines Sagrantino, for which the area is famous, and the Montefalco Sagrantino secco.

References

External links

*Commons: Convento di San Fortunato with frescoes by Gozzoli
Official websiteTourist WebsiteMontefalco Wine ConsortiumTutto Montefalco
(including Urbini's ''Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco'') {{authority control Hilltowns in Umbria Wine regions of Italy Cittaslow Borghi più belli d'Italia