Montefalco is a historic small hill town in

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, 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 ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

Montefalco DOC Montefalco wine (Montefalco Rosso, red wine; Montefalco Bianco, white wine) is a style of Italian wine made in Umbria, and awarded Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status in 1979. Geography The region lies in the province of Perugia ...

is a regulated geographical area for its wine, the reds usually including the highly localized

Sagrantino Sagrantino is an Italian grape variety that is indigenous to the region of Umbria in Central Italy. It is grown primarily in the village of Montefalco and the surrounding area, with a recent rapid increase in planting area from in 2000 to by 2 ...

grape variety. The town's museum is in a former church, which has a fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis by the Florentine artist

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...

(1450–1452).

History

The town has been actively settled since the times of the

Umbri The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria. Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC on ...

. It has been under the successive domination of the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

, being called Coccorone in the Middle Ages. In 1249 it was sacked by Frederick II, but was soon rebuilt with the modern name. from the 13th century it had been a free ''comune ''under the domination 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 The Trinci were a noble family from central Italy, who were lords of Foligno, in Umbria, from 1305 to 1439. History During the War of the Guelphs and Ghibellines which tore apart Italy from the 12th to the 14th century, the Trinci were initially ...

from the nearby Foligno (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.

Main sights

Montefalco today has several churches, some in the Romanesque, some in the Gothic and some in the Renaissance style. Historically, the most important is the church of '' San Francesco'', which is now the town's museum, and, given its collection of art and artifacts, one of the most important museums in Umbria. The church is notable for its fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis, by the Florentine artist

(1450–1452). Other artists represented in the museum include

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

, Francesco Melanzio,

Pier Antonio Mezzastris Pier Antonio Mezzastris (or Pierantonio Mezastris; c. 1430 – c. 1506) was an Italian painter of the Quattrocento, painting in a somewhat provincial style for the time. He was born at Foligno in Umbria. He painted religious subjects, working mos ...

Antoniazzo Romano Antoniazzo Romano, born Antonio di Benedetto Aquilo degli Aquili (c. 1430 – c. 1510) was an Italian Early Renaissance painter, the leading figure of the Roman school during the latter part of the 15th century. He "made a speciality of re ...

and

Tiberio d'Assisi Tiberio d'Assisi (circa 1470–1524) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active in the early 16th century. He painted in the style of Pietro Perugino. He is also known as ''Tiberio Diatelevi'' or ''Tiberio di Assisi''. He painted a ...

. Among the other churches found inside and outside the town walls are Sant'Agostino, Santa Clara, Santa Illuminata and San Fortunato, the latter, built in the 4th century over the tomb of Fortunatus of Spoleto and renovated in the 15th century, had frescoes by Gozzoli and Tiberio d'Assisi. 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 classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tipi ...

red wines

, 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