Montone

Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club

If you want to immerse yourself in a typical medieval atmosphere, from other times, the ideal thing to do is visit Montone, a village on a hill overlooking the valley of the Carpina river and the Upper Tiber Valley.

Between the 14th and 15th centuries, it was the scene of historical events linked to the Fortebracci family and home to the warlord Andrea Fortebracci, known as Braccio da Montone for this reason. Not to be missed, in the historical centre, is the Gothic Church of San Francesco, which has numerous frescoes by the Umbrian school inside. It is part of the Montone Museum Centre, which allows visitors to admire paintings, silverware and sacred vestments of great value (two works of particular note from the late-15th century are the Virgin of Mercy and Saint Anthony, by Bartolomeo Caporali). In addition to this, there are two other important cultural centres: the Polo di Santa Caterina, in the former convent of the same name, which now houses the library and the historical archive, and the Polo di San Fedele, with an auditorium and theatre, which every year hosts a varied theatre season featuring dance, music and prose. The oldest church in the village, built in around 1000 AD, is the parish church of San Gregorio, in Romanesque-Byzantine style.

Thanks to the agricultural tradition of the local area, Montone has a rich variety of cuisine, characterised by genuine flavours. Among the many specialties, the most unique is the Mazzafegato from the Upper Tiber Valley, a "poor" sausage with a dark colour, coarse grain and an unmistakable aroma of fennel flowers. Other local products include smoked vinosanto from the Upper Tiber Valley produced by young Davide Morganti's farm, shepherd's cheeses from the Monni family, craft beers from the Fortebraccio brewery, and wine, oil and truffles from the all-female farm in Poggio Moiolo.

Among the most important events, we mention theUmbria Film Festival (organised in early July), started by the director Terry Gilliam, who has close ties with Montone, which attracts world-famous actors and directors every year, and the historical re-enactment of the Donation of the Holy Thorn (held the week before the penultimate Sunday of August) which recalls the homage paid to the relic by the warlord Carlo Fortebracci, son of Braccio, in Montone in 1473.