Montefalco, Umbria

Perched upon a hill with sweeping vistas across the most beautiful Umbrian wine region, the Medieval town of Montefalco is an Italophile's dream!

Montefalco seems to have it all; a walled hilltop town with 360-degree views, a large Medieval main piazza, churches with venerable art and lots of Enoteca to sample the local wines.  This is not a tourist destination for some, it is a pilgrimage to the best wine town in Umbria.  Montefalco is the origin of Sagrantino di Montefalco; kind of like Montalcino is the origin for Brunello in Tuscany.  If you want to know more about the interesting history of this wine check out my blog post on Sagrantino.  There are 13 DOC wine regions in Umbria and Montefalco is in the Colli Martani region.  There is great wine tourism in this area with the "Strada del Sagrantino" or the Sagrantino Wine Road and plenty of grape and wine festivals each fall.

Montefalco, unlike the other villages in this area of Umbria, was settled first by the Etruscans and then Umbri Tribe people.  Then, of course, the Romans came in and settled the area and probably brought along the Sagrantino grape with them but nobody knows this for certain; it's a mystery.  Bevagna which is 7km away was a huge Roman town that lay on the Via Flaminia road to Rome. Bevagna administrated all the towns in this area and many wealthy Romans built their villas on the mountain, which is Montefalco is today.  Montefalco was called Coccorone until the 13th century but nobody is certain why; another mystery.  Christianity was introduced to Montefalco early in the 4th century by a peasant priest named Saint Fortunatus who preached against the dangers of avarice.  Really?  In Latin "Fortunatus" means "rich, blessed and lucky"- just sayin'.  There is a monastery in St. Fortunatus' name just outside today's city walls.

Montefalco produced a total of six Saints which is a lot for the tiny town, including Saint Clare (1268-1308) known as St. Clare of the Cross whose relics are in Santa Clara church.   By the Early Middle Ages Montefalco had two monasteries, one built by Saint Clare's father and was a completely fortified city.

Moonrise Over Montefalco

The first impression of Montefalco is one of excitement with its giant city walls.  They were built in 1249 when Coccorone changed its name to Montefalco, under its ruler Fredrick the II.  Apparently, Fredrick had peregrine falcons for hunting and incorporated them into his Royal crest which can be seen over the massive city gates. We parked our car alongside the walls and followed the steps up to Montefalco centre.  The views from atop the city ramparts are truly impressive as you can see across the plains to the mountains.  A walk along these ramparts reveals you can see all the way to Assisi, Spello, Trevi, Todi, Bevagna, Perugia and our home in Spoleto!

View From The Walls

Part of The Wall Ramparts

Finding our way to the main Piazza was easy at this time of year, one only needs to follow the river of Christmas lights strung above your head and follow the sound of Christmas carols playing over the loudspeakers of the main Piazza.  Montefalco's Piazza del Commune is one of my personal favourites in Umbria because it feels so open and airy. Surrounded by Medieval era palazzos with grande porticos, the centre of the cobblestoned Piazza has an inlaid falcon crest made of white stone.  It's a beautiful emblem of a graceful and polished town who know that people come here from all around the world to try the famous wines of the region.  Montefalco understands that first impressions are important and they want to present their town to a world-class audience.

Photogenic Piazza Del Commune

Falcon Crest

All the streets of Montefalco radiate from this falcon crest in Piazza Del Commune.  The museum of Montefalco is just a few steps off the main Piazza in the former church of San Francesco. The deconsecrated 14th-century church holds many works of art salvaged from other local churches as well as frescoes by the famous Florentine early Renaissance artist  Benozzo Gozzoli.  Gozzoli is considered one of the best fresco artists of his time and his works of art appear in Venice, Florence and Rome as well as smaller towns in Tuscany and Umbria.  Gozzoli's frescoes of the life cycle of St. Francis rivals those of Giotto in Assisi and his art also appears in the St. Fortunato church just outside Montefalco's city walls.  

Palazzo Comunale In Montefalco

The Town Hall or "Palazzo Comunale" is another beautiful building on the main Piazza del Commune.  This Gothic style Pallazo was built in the 12th century but it was renovated and the portico in front was added on in the 15th century. If you go around to the left side of the building you can see an original Gothic lancet window!

Another very important feature of Montefalco's main Piazza are the various "enotecas" that are scattered amongst the businesses.  Enotecas are literally "wine libraries" and you can go inside and buy wine by the glass, sometimes have some small nibbles and buy some bottles of local wine to take home.  TIP: The tourist information office on Piazza del Commune #17 has maps and lists of the local enotecas and wineries. You can even arrange wine tours here in the summer.  

One Of Montefalco's Many Enoteca

Sagrantino di Montefalco, Sagrantino Secco, Montefalco Rosso (and Rosso Reserva),  Montefalco Bianco are wines whose grapes all grown on the hillside around the town of Montefalco.  You can pick up delicious wines from neighbouring towns like Grechetto di Todi, Grechetto di Spoleto white wines and the newest red obsession of mine; the Torgiano Rosso called Rubesco!  Most enotecas are very helpful with answering your questions about wine and they do carry wines from other regions of Italy as well.  We went to Enoteca Di Benozzi right on the main Piazza and found all the wines we were looking for and at reasonable prices.  Most of the bottles we picked up were around €20 and they bubble wrapped the bottles for us so we could bring them home safely in our suitcases-if we could manage to wait that long before drinking them. 😋

If you are not into wine, then the olive oil from Montefalco is some of the best in Umbria, as is the local honey.  Montefalco is also known for its weaving and pottery and there are some nice shops that have local crafts.  Keep in mind that Mondays are market days and you can pick up some very unique souvenirs to bring home. 

An evening stroll through picturesque Montefalco is delightful. Around every corner you find history and beauty come together in a perfect marriage that personifies the Umbrian hilltown.  Montefalco is known as the balcony of Umbria, and standing on the ramparts at sunset you can certainly see why.  Make sure you have plenty of storage space on your device for your photos because you will not be able to stop clicking away.


Auguri!

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