Monteleone di Spoleto

{{Infobox Italian comune

| name = Monteleone di Spoleto

| official_name = Comune di Monteleone di Spoleto

| native_name =

| image_skyline = MonteleoneDiSpoletoMar262024 04.jpg

| imagesize =

| image_alt =

| image_caption = View of Monteleone di Spoleto

| image_shield = monteleonedispoleto.gif

| shield_size = 40px

| image_map =

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt =

| coordinates = {{Coord|42|39|5|N|12|57|6|E|region:IT|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_footnotes =

| region = {{RegioneIT|sigla=UMB}}

| province = {{ProvinciaIT (short form)|sigla=PG}} (PG)

| frazioni = Butino, Rescia, Ruscio, Trivio

| mayor_party =

| mayor = Marisa Angelini

| area_footnotes =

| area_total_km2 = 61.58

| population_footnotes = All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)

| population_total = 648

| population_as_of = 28 February 2010

| pop_density_footnotes =

| population_demonym = Monteleonesi

| elevation_footnotes =

| elevation_min_m =

| elevation_max_m =

| elevation_m = 978

| twin1 =

| twin1_country =

| saint = St. Nicholas

| day = 6 December

| postal_code = 06045

| area_code = 0743

| website = {{official website|http://www.comune.monteleone-di-spoleto.pg.it/}}

}}

Monteleone di Spoleto (in Antiquity, the Roman town of Brufa), is a town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in southeast Umbria at 978 meters (3,209 ft) above sea-level overhanging the upper valley of the Corno River. It is one of the more remote towns in Umbria, on a mountain road from Norcia and Cascia (33 km and 12 km NNE respectively) to Leonessa and Rieti in the Lazio (10 km S and 51 km SSW). It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").{{cite web |url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/umbria/ |title=Umbria |date=9 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023 |language=it |archive-date=1 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801150323/https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/umbria/ |url-status=live }}

The population of the comune was 648 in 2010, with the town proper accounting for about half of that; the frazioni of Monteleone are Butino, Rescia, Ruscio, and Trivio.

History

Monteleone is famous for one of the world's great archaeological finds: a 6th‑century BC Etruscan chariot that quickly followed the path of money and by the early 20th century had already wound up in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. A copy of the chariot is on display in Monteleone. There remain, however, few if any traces of the town's Roman days: destroyed and rebuilt by the Spoletans in the 12th century, it offers at present an essentially medieval appearance.

Main sights

The main monument in Monteleone is the 14th-century church of San Francesco, with a cloister now serving as a lapidary museum, a Gothic door and a fresco of Christ crucified in the full robes of a bishop, with a loaf of bread under one foot and a chalice of wine under the other. Under the cloister, a second church can be seen, complete with a 14th‑century fresco. Other monuments include several other medieval churches, the 15th‑century Palazzo Bernabò, and vestiges of the town's medieval walls, including a clock tower.

References

  • [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Umbria/Perugia/Monteleone_di_Spoleto/Monteleone_di_Spoleto/home.html Bill Thayer's site]

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