|
 MONTEFALCO
beautiful medieval villages of Italy
history of Montefalco (Umbria-Italy)
Welcome to Montefalco
Mount of the Falcon
From Jesse's Journeys in Italy
Population: 5630 (2004)
"A little piece of heaven" some have called it,
Montefalco (pop. 5600) is situated high in
the Colli Martani, with a 360 degree view of the
surrounding countryside. On a clear day, you
may not be able to see forever, but you can see
across the gorgeous Vale de Umbria to Perugia,
Assisi, Spoleto, Trevi, Bevagna, Foligno,
Bettano, Pissignano and a collection of other
small towns and villages. Below the town lies
the flood plain of the Clitunno River.
Montefalco, the birthplace of no less than
eight saints, is in the middle of Umbria's most
important grape growing and wine producing
country, which you will see as you wend your
way up the highway, proceeding east from Bevagna.
The two most important wine varieties for which
the area is known are the simple Montefalco
Rosso, and Sagrantrino which offers a more
complex set of flavors to the educated palate.
 
There is ample parking (during the off season)
outside the Porta Sant'Agostino. Enter the gate,
then proceed up the Corso G. Mameli to the
Chiesa Sant'Agostino, built in the Gothic style
between 1279 and 1285, on your left. If you
dip into the church you will find several
noteworthy frescoes from as far back as the 13th
century.
Continuing to the top of the hill, you will
enter the Piazza del Commune, surrounded by most
of Montefalco's most important public buildings,
most built in the 15th and 16th centuries,
including the Palazzo Comunale, and Chiesa Santa
Maria.
If there is a "must see" in Montefalco it is the
town's museum, housed in the now deconsecrated
Chiesa San Francesco which you will reach by
walking down from the main piazza on Via
Ringhiera della Umbria.
The church was built as a preaching church by
Franciscan monks over a 200 year period
commencing in 1336. The church's facade
underwent significant alteration in the 16th
Century. At one time, the interior was a unified
whole, but an aisle was added also in the 16th
century.
Now, one of Italy's most important museums, the
facility houses works by Perugino, Melanzio,
Mezzastris, Romano, Tiberio d'Assisi and, of
course, Gozzoli, who painted two sets of
frescoes in the church including one in the
chapel of St. Jerome, but more importantly an
incredibly well executed cycle of the Life of St.
Francis in the apse. |
|
How
we are
