Monteleone di Spoleto, counted among the most beautiful villages in Italy, is absolutely worth a visit during our travels and motorbike tours.
In the heart of Umbria, it stands on a hill overlooking the valley of the Corno river, in a wide hilly basin of land cultivated with spelled.
Monteleone boasts a strategic position between the historic communication routes: to the south, to Leonessa, to the east to the Salaria and the valley of the Tronto river. In the XNUMXth century, the Via del Ferro and the mountain roads used for transhumance were added to these routes.
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What to see
La Church of St. Francis is the main structure of the village. At the end of the fourteenth century it was divided in half, in height, by robust vaults. The lower church has two naves: the central one shows a coffered ceiling from the eighteenth century. Among the works of art we can see a wooden statue of Sant'Antonio Abate, an early fifteenth century fresco depicting the Madonna del voto, the baroque altar dedicated to San Felice.
In the complex of San Francesco there is also a copy of the Etruscan chariot, in walnut wood, covered with bronze plates, with the rudder protruding from the jaws of a wild boar and the end in the shape of a bird's head. In front of the village you can admire the chain mountain that surrounds theplateau of Leonessa, with the major peaks of the Cambio and Tila.
What to do
As for the Village of Arrone, in Monteleone you can go trekking, horseback riding, mountain biking and discover the itineraries of industrial archeology in the places of mines.
From December 5th to 9th the Farro Market Exhibition takes place, the only DOP in Europe. The third week of July is the San Felice Fair. On the morning of August 15, the Cybo Malaspina historical procession re-enacts the Monteleone of 1516 with the gift to the church of San Francesco of the "doubler", the candle that will burn all year round; in the afternoon the Palio del Doppiero is the challenge of the Terzieri for the reconquest of the palio lost the previous year. On 11 August follows the Sagra degli Strascinati, "the magnar of the wayfarers".
To taste
Typical of the Monteleone area are extra virgin olive oil, truffles, not to mention pecorino cheese and the famous butchery of Valnerina (cured meats and sausages, from ham to sausages).
Other routes and information
In motorcycle you can walk la strada that Arrochar joins Monteleone, passing through Polino and Colle Bertone (that of the famous trench).
Valnerina IAT Office Tel. 0743 71401
www.lavalnerina.it - info@lavalnerina.it
www.comune.monteleonedispoleto.pg.it
