On the top of a sunny hill, overlooking the Tiber, Clitunno and Topino valleys; surrounded by the Martani Mountains and Subasio (the mountain of Assisi), Montefalco is a small nest not of an eagle, but of a falcon, as recalled by the coat of arms on top of the Town Hall, which pays homage not only to the splendid panoramic position, but also to its history.
On the top of a sunny hill, overlooking the Tiber valley, the Clitunno and little mouse; surrounded by mountains Martani and from Subasio (the mountain of Assisi), Montefalco it is a small nest not of an eagle, but of a falcon, as recalled by the coat of arms at the top of the Town Hall, which pays homage not only to the splendid panoramic position, but also to its history.
In the Middle Ages, the town was one of the emperor's bases Frederick II of Swabia, who practiced falcon hunting here. And of the Middle Ages, a Montefalco, much remains: the circular walls interspersed with towers; the narrow and intriguing streets; houses and buildings leaning against each other, the ancient neighborhoods, the artistic weaving shops. Entering from crenelated gate of S.Agostino, you run along the main street, Corso Mameli, overlooked by the thirteenth-century Church of the Augustinians, with imposing trusses and precious frescoes from the 300s and 400s inside, and a dense series of stately homes and buildings, which release the warm tones of the local stone (called di San Terenziano), with which they were built.
In a few minutes, you reach the large, airy circular square of the Town Hall, dominated by the gigantic mass of the Town Hall (1270 AD), refined by a fifteenth-century loggia and garnished by a tower with a panoramic terrace, from where the view extends 360 degrees , capturing, in succession, Spoleto, Trevi, Foligno, spello, Assisi e Perugia.
The daily comings and goings culminate in the square, captivating accomplices wine bars e eateries (we are in the land of the precious Sagrantino), shops selling typical products and traditional crafts. But the flagship of Montefalco appears a few tens of meters away, on the street Railing ofUmbria: the fourteenth century Church-Museum of S. Francesco, in whose apse, Benozzo Gozzoli frescoed, in 1452, twelve touching scenes from the life of the Saint, giving life to the most important Franciscan pictorial cycle after that of Giotto in Assisi and marking a fundamental stage in the transition from late Gothic to early Renaissance painting. Among the many treasures, the church also houses a sixteenth-century painting by Perugino and, in the basement, the ancient Franciscan cellars, opened to the public in 2006: the stone tanks for pressing Sagrantino and the space for the presses are clearly recognisable. A Municipal Statute of 1692 mentioned them as the largest in Montefalco.
Connection failed: Access denied for user 'fulltravel_wpdb03'@'localhost' (using password: YES)