On the top of a sunny hill, overlooking the Tiber valley, the Clitunno and the Topino; surrounded by the Martani Mountains and the Subasio (the mountain of Assisi), Montefalco is a small nest not of eagles, but of falcons, as the emblem atop the Town Hall building reminds us, paying tribute not only to the splendid panoramic position but also to its history.
In the Middle Ages, the town was one of the bases of Emperor Frederick II of Swabia, who hunted with falcons here. Much of the medieval atmosphere remains in Montefalco: the circular walls interspersed with towers; the narrow, intriguing alleys; houses and townhouses leaning against each other, the ancient quarters, and artisan weaving shops. Entering through the merloned gate of St. Augustine, you walk along the main street, Corso Mameli, which is lined by the twelfth-century church of the Augustinians, featuring imposing trusses and precious frescoes from the 1300s and 1400s, and a dense array of houses and noble palaces that emit the warm tones of the local stone (called San Terenziano), used in their construction.
In just a few minutes, you reach the large, airy circular Town Square, dominated by the gigantic bulk of the Town Hall (1270 AD), softened by a 15th-century loggia and adorned with a tower with a panoramic terrace, from which the view extends 360 degrees, capturing in succession Spoleto, Trevi, Foligno, Spello, Assisi , and Perugia.
The square is the hub of daily life, aided by enticing wine bars and small restaurants (we are in the land of the precious Sagrantino), shops selling typical products and traditional crafts. But Montefalco’s jewel is just a few dozen meters away, on Ringhiera dell’Umbria street: the 14th-century Church-Museum of St. Francis, whose apse was frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1452 with twelve touching scenes from the saint’s life, creating the most important Franciscan cycle of paintings after Giotto in Assisi and marking a fundamental step in the transition from late Gothic painting to that of the early Renaissance. Among the many treasures, the church also houses a 16th-century painting by Perugino and, in the underground cellars, the ancient Franciscan wine cellars, opened to the public in 2006: the stone vats for pressing Sagrantino grapes and the space for the wine presses can be clearly recognized. A Town Statute from 1692 mentioned them as the largest in Montefalco.
