Montefalco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montefalco is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia, (Umbria), 42°54N 12°39E; at 473 m (1552 ft) above sea-level on an outcrop of the Colli Martani above the flood plain of the Clitunno river, 7 km (4 mi) SE of Bevagna, 11 km (7 mi) SW of Foligno, and 9 km (5.5 mi) NW of Trevi. Its population was 5600 as of the 2003 census.

The town has been actively settled since the times of the Umbri. It has been under the successive domination of the Romans, Lombards, and, after the sacking of the city by Frederick II, in the mid‑13th century, the Holy Roman Empire. In the 13th century it became a comune under the domination of local nobles and merchants, but later, as with many other Umbrian locales, the comune gave way to government by Signoria — in this case, under the rule of the lords of nearby Foligno. Ultimately, 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. She was canonized in 1881 by Pope Leo XIII.

Montefalco today has several churches, some in the Romanesque, some in the Gothic and some in the Renaissance style. Historically, the most important by far was the church of San Francesco, which is now the town's museum, and, given its collection of art and artifacts, one of the most important museums in Umbria. The church is notable for its fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis, undoubtedly the best work of the Umbrian artist Benozzo Gozzoli. Other artists represented in the museum include Perugino, Melanzio, Mezzastris, Antoniazzo Romano, and Tiberio d'Assisi.

Among the other churches found inside and outside the town walls are Sant'Agostino, Santa Clara, Santa Illuminata and San Fortunato, where one finds noteworthy frescoes and sculpture.

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, and the more complex Sagrantino for which the area is famous.