• Montefalco

      The Territory of Montefalco
      Historical information about Montefalco

      The Valentini farm Bocale is situated in the territory of the Municipality of Montefalco, in the village of Fratta Alzatura near Madonna della Stella, which is famous due to the presence of the Sanctuary with such name and for the quality agricultural production not only of oil and wine but also wheat and sunflowers.

      It is not far, about 6km, from the historical centre of Montefalco, in the province of Perugia at 473m above sea level, on the top of a hill which dominates the spoletina valley. From such a position you can admire a fantastic view and it is described as the “Balcony of Umbria”. The nearest railway station for Montefalco is Foligno (12km away) and it is 48km from Perugia. Montefalco, maybe to be identified with the ancient Mons Faliscus, destroyed during the civil wars of 1 B.C., was called Coccorone until the Middle Ages.

      Destroyed by the Emperor Federico II’s Army in about 1249, it re-emerged as a flowering municipality taking on the present name, inspired by the Emperor himself who was a keen falconer and wrote the work “De ars venandi cum avibus”. Pope Giovanni XXII was responsible for building a fortress in about 1329, which the Trinci family of Foligno then destroyed in the XV century, when they were the temporary noble family of Montefalco. It finally returned to the State of the Church and was made a City in 1848 by Pio IX.

      Visiting Montefalco
      What to see in Montefalco:

      - the Municipality building, dating back to 1270, later altered with a portico of the XV century; part of the city walls;
      - Sant’Agostino Church (C13th -14th), Santa Chiara Church, where the Patron Saint of the city, Santa Chiara of Montefalco, is worshipped, Santa Illuminata which houses frescos of the C14th-15th, and Santa Lucia, the oldest;
      - the most important historical, cultural and artistic monument in Montefalco is the San Francesco Church (C14th), transformed into a museum which houses the works of Perugino (about 1503) and of other Umbrian painters and is decorated with frescos by Benozzo Gozzoli depicting the life of San Francesco, in the apse, and the stories of the life of the Saint in the San Girolamo Chapel (the series of paintings finished in 1452). It is also interesting for the recent discovery and subsequent recovery of the ancient wine cellars situated underground;
      - there are also frescos by Gozzoli in San Fortunato Church of 1446, near Montefalco, altered in the C18th.

      Montefalco is included in the wine tourist district of the “Strada del Sagrantino” (Sagrantino Wine Road, which also comprises the municipalities of Bevagna, Castel Ritaldi, Giano dell’Umbria and Gualdo Cattaneo which correspond entirely, as is the case of Montefalco, or in part to the area of production of the denomination of the Montefalco Wines.
      They are small centres, characterised by a historical centre, which often preserves its typical original structure of a medieval village, with ancient buildings and churches and surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, wineries and olive mills, which all ensure typical quality local agricultural products and by receptive facilities comprising small structures with little impact on the environment, often obtained by restoring ancient buildings, and by farms. Still on the theme of local gastronomy, noteworthy is the local production of honey, saffron, cold meats and the breeding of the “chianina” breed of cow.