Monteleone di Spoleto: Medieval Streets, Museum and Trails

Monteleone di Spoleto combines a medieval townscape, archaeological traces and paths through a landscape of forests, valleys, pastures and cultivated fields.

Streets, churches and fortifications

Through the entrance of the Torre dell’Orologio, you reach the oldest part of Monteleone di Spoleto: a maze of streets laid out in a typical medieval town plan around the now-vanished castle of the Tiberti family. The Baluardo dell’Annunziata is part of the 15th-century fortifications. Beltramo di Martino designed it to defend the border with the Kingdom of Naples and the route to Cascia, using innovative techniques against firearms. The Church of San Francesco was built in the 14th century over an older Benedictine oratory dating from the 12th century. The origins of the Ex Convento e Chiesa di Santa Caterina date back to 1310, when ten Augustinian nuns joined together to follow the rule of Chiara di Norcia and spread her order. The permanent exhibition “L'Arte del Ferro” by the artist Diego Venanzi can also be seen on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

The Museo della Biga and its archaeological trace

In the Museo della Biga, housed in the former Franciscan monastery, a life-size replica showcases a Greek-Italic ceremonial chariot from the 6th century BC. The replica was made in 1985 by the school of the master Manzù. The original was discovered in 1902 in the Colle del Capitano area and has been housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1903.

Historic paths and pre-Roman sites

The Il Castelliere route leads from the Church of Sant’Erasmo in the hamlet of Trivio to the pre-Roman fortress near Selva Grossa. The remains of its walls can be seen there; the area, with little light pollution, is particularly suitable for stargazing. The Via del Capitano begins in Monteleone di Spoleto and leads over Monte Pizzoro and through the valley of the River Corno to Colle del Capitano. Along the way are the ruins of an old castle, a pre-Roman stone cistern, as well as the site where the Biga and 42 shaft tombs from the Proto-Villanovan period were discovered. The hike takes no more than three hours and partly follows steep paths.

Forests, pastures and Parco della Croce

Monteleone di Spoleto is located within the Parco Naturale del Coscerno - Aspra. The landscape includes beech and downy oak forests, valleys, pastures and cultivated fields. The Parco della Croce is an easily accessible urban park with downy oaks, black pines, firs and cedar trees of Lebanon.

Local tradition and announced market

The Farro di S. Nicola ritual has taken place every year on December 5, the eve of the feast of the town’s patron saint. The parish priest prepares a spelt soup seasoned with a lean sauce in the rectory of the Church of San Nicola, cooks it in a large cauldron hanging over the hearth, and distributes it at noon to the residents of Monteleone, beginning with the children. Between July 17 and 19, 2026, the Fiera di San Felice was announced in Monteleone di Spoleto, opening the 14th edition of the “Mostra Mercato del Bestiame, cereali e prodotti tipici umbri,” a market for livestock, cereals and typical Umbrian products.

More destinations: Spoleto, Casamaggiore, Montignano, San Biagio De La Valle, Gualdo Cattaneo, Doglio, Solomeo and Cortaccione.

To the broader travel overview: Perugia.