Montefalco is a historic small hill town in Umbria, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
Montefalco DOC is a regulated geographical area due to its red grape wine production, including the highly localized Sagrantino grape variety. The town's museum is in a former church, which has a fresco cycle on the life of St. Francis by the Florentine artist Benozzo Gozzoli (1450–1452).
Etymology
The origin of the name Montefalco is disputed. According to the local historians Casalio and Monticelli, it derives from Mons Faliscus, on the assumption that the town was connected with the Falisci; in their account, the town's second name, Corcurione, is linked to a Roman knight named Curione who was said to have rebuilt the settlement.
By 1240 the community had acknowledged imperial authority. Institutional structures associated with communal government are documented from the early 13th century, when the office of podestà was already in place. In 1270 the people's palace was built.
Geography
Montefalco lies to the northwest of Spoleto, in an area of hills and plains on the left side of the and south of Bevagna.
Montefalco stands on the summit of a hill, with the Topino and the Maroggia running at its foot. Its horizon was described in the 19th century as so attractive that the town was called "the balcony of Umbria". In the surrounding countryside, the land rises in gentle slopes up to the city walls and is particularly rich in olive groves and orchards.
Subdivisions
The municipality includes the localities of Argentella, Belvedere, Borghetto, Camiano Grande, Camiano Piccolo, Casale, Cerrete, Colle Arfuso, Colle San Clemente, Cortignano, Fabbri, Fratta, Il Piano, Lasignano, Mercatello, Montefalco, Montepennino, Pietrauta, Poggetto, Rignano, San Luca, Turri, Turrita, Valle Cupa, Vecciano, Vigliano.
In 2021, 1,869 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality.
On the first floor the building houses the municipal librarys. In the second room of the library there is a fresco of the Madonna in Maestà, attributed to Giovanni di Corraduccio. The current council chamber on the top floor previously served, in the 18th century, as the Teatro dell'Aquila, which remained active until the end of the 19th century.