Montefalco is a historic small hill town in Umbria, 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. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").[3]
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 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. It has been under the successive rule of the Romans, followed by the Lombards, 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 (1383–1439). In 1446 it fell under the rule of the Papal States 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.
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
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 red wines Sagrantino, for which the area is famous, and the Montefalco Sagrantino secco.
