Montone

Umbria

15 minutes drive, a great distant view of this hilltop town from the kitchen at the house. Famous for the film festival and home to several great restaurants as well as a nice place for aperitifs.

HISTORY

Believed to be of Medieval origins, Montone appears in the tenth century as a fiefdom of the Margravate of Colle and subsequently of the Del Monte family. By 1121 Montone, now under the direct control of Perugia, was authorized to be self-governing under its own statutes and legal officers.

In 1414 it was given to Braccio da Montone. His family held it until the early 16th century, when the Vitelli acquired it. Later in the century it was annexed to the Papal States.

On 10 July 1944 in the vicinity of Morlupo, 2 km north of Montone, Naik Yeshwant Ghadge, 3/5 Mahratta, 10th Indian Division earned posthumously the Victoria Cross, the highest British military award, for bravery under enemy fire.

ART, CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT

The building of greatest artistic interest in Montone is the Gothic Church of San Francesco (14th century) with a single nave and polygonal apse. Inside are numerous Umbrian frescoes, some attributed to the master Bartolomeo Caporali, and interesting wooden sculptures. The church is also the home of the Municipal Museum, which holds paintings, silver, and sacred vestments of great artistic value and, on the ground floor, the Ethnographic Museum, with over 600 items from Eastern Africa. The Municipal Historical Archives, one of the most important in Umbria for its extensive

Montone, Umbria - Activity Casa Baldelli collection of documents, is also in the historic center, in the former convent of Santa Caterina. Another important religious building is the Parish Church of San Gregorio, Montone’s oldest church, built in about 1000 AD in the Romanesque-Byzantine style: it has an unusual round apse with frescoes from the Umbrian school. Also worthy of a visit is the Collegiate Church, built in 1310 and restored during the 17th century; on Easter Monday the relic of the Holy Thorn is put on display. Just outside the center one finds the Rocca d’Aries, an imposing castle which has been returned to its ancient splendor by painstaking restoration work.

 

Text and Image Sources: Wiki & Montone In