What to see in Montefalco, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest in the village, including walls, Church of San Francesco with frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli, Palazzo Comunale and Church of Sant’Agostino, where the Blessed pilgrim is kept.
Tourist information
Town of Umbria in the province of Perugia, Montefalco is located in a splendid panoramic position on top of a hill, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, in the center of the Umbrian Valley.
This ancient town, known as the railing of Umbria, overlooks a vast territory that ranges from Spoleto to Assisi, including Mount Subasio and the Martani Mountains, offering beautiful panoramic views.
Its name was Coccurione until the middle of the thirteenth century, a period in which it was razed to the ground by Frederick II, later, after being rebuilt, it assumed its current name.
The village, which is still largely surrounded by medieval walls, topped with towers and interrupted by doors, preserves winding alleys, ancient palaces, churches, cloisters and precious works of art.
Porta Sant’Agostino opens into the walls, above which stands the magnificent tower of the same name, Porta di Federico II and Porta Camiano, dominated by the oldest coat of arms of Montefalco.
The Church of San Francesco, dating back to the fourteenth century and deconsecrated since the mid-nineteenth century, is home to an important museum-art gallery, with works by excellent artists, including an extraordinary cycle of frescoes, concerning the life of San Francesco di Benozzo Gozzoli, and a large newsstand with frescoes by Perugino.
At the highest point of the town stands the Palazzo Comunale, built in 1270 and subsequently remodeled.
What see
In the historical center there is the Church of Sant'Agostino, built by the Augustinian friars, in the second part of the thirteenth century, on the foundations of the pre-existing Church of San Giovanni Battista.
The simple Gothic facade is embellished with an important portal and an original rose window, while inside there are numerous frescoes of the Umbrian school, made in the period between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries by various artists, including Lorenzetti, Nelli , Mezzastris, Alunno, Melanzio and Caporali.
Inside the church the body of Blessed Pellegrino is preserved.
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Near the door of Federico II, stands the Church of Santa Chiara della Croce, rebuilt in the seventeenth century and including the medieval chapel of Santa Croce, frescoed in 1333 by painters of the Umbrian school, while the convent with the cloister dates back to the fifteenth century.
The Church guards the urn with the uncorrupted body of the Augustinian Saint.
In the interior of the Church of Santa Illuminata, in Renaissance style with a terracotta facade, frescoes by Francesco Melanzio and Bernardino Mezzastris are preserved.
About a kilometer away from the historic center, on top of a hill, stands the Convent of San Fortunato, dedicated to a priest who lived in Montefalco between 340 and 400.
The church, dating back in part to the twelfth century, houses important frescoes by Gozzoli, in particular a copy of the precious altarpiece of the Madonna della Cintola, whose original was placed on the high altar until 1848, when it was donated to Pope Pius IX by the city of Montefalco and later exhibited in the Vatican Pinacoteca.
From the expanses of vineyards and olive groves that cover the hills of this territory unique products are born, such as the Sagrantino Docg wine and the DOP Umbria Colli Martani extra virgin olive oil.
