What is Montecchio known for?

Fifty chamber tombs at Vallone di San Lorenzo, one of the largest pre-Roman necropolises in Umbria, with Etruscan ties to Orvieto. Olive groves on the Tiber-facing slopes feed mills along the valley; the town is in the Città dell'Olio network. Member of the Italian network of small communes pursuing low-impact, low-consumption local policy.

Montecchio is a comune in the province of Terni, Umbria region of Italy, about 52 kilometers from Terni.

Umbria · Terni

Montecchio

A small hill communeabove the Tiber, sitting on top of one of Umbria's largest Etruscan-tied necropolises.

52 km / 32 mi

Nearest hub (Terni)

1,521

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Montecchio sitson a ridge above the Tiber valley, fifty kilometers south of Perugia and thirty northwest of Terni. The territory was inhabited well before Rome: the Vallone di San Lorenzo, about five kilometers below the borgo, holds fifty chamber tombs carved into the soft calcarenite locally called matile, with strong ties to Etruscan Orvieto at its sixth-to-fifth-century BC peak. The recovered artifacts, now in the Antiquarium of Tenaglie, document a wealthy pre-Roman community. The settlement of Montecchio is first documented in 1154; the castle was raised around 1165 by the Chiaravalle family and passed through the Alviano, Baschi, Colonna and Atti before becoming independent of Baschi in 1948. Tenaglie, on the opposite ridge, is dominated by Palazzo Ancajani, built in the early 1700s on the foundations of an earlier fortification. The territory holds Borghi più belli, Città dell'Olio and Comuni Virtuosi standing together.

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Gallery

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Known for

Necropoli del Vallone di San Lorenzo
Pre-Roman necropolis 5 km below the borgo, 50 chamber tombs carved in matile rock with klinai-shaped benches, peak 6th-5th century BC.
AMAT Antiquarium di Tenaglie
Archaeological museum in the Tenaglie frazione displaying the necropolis finds, with strong evidence of Etruscan Orvieto influence.
Palazzo Ancajani (Tenaglie)
Early 18th-century palace on a rocky ridge facing Montecchio, built by Filippo Ancajani over an earlier fortification.
Resti del Castello di Carnano
Ruins of the year-1000 castle above the Tiber valley near the Abbey of Sant'Andrea, destroyed in 1553 by order of Pope Julius III.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the months locals prefer. The necropolis trail through holm oak and juniper is at its best in spring, and the slopes above the Tiber stay golden into late autumn. July and August push temperatures past thirty-five degrees in the valley; the upper borgo holds the breeze and the tomb chambers stay cool year-round. November through March is quiet. The Antiquarium runs winter hours and Palazzo Ancajani opens by appointment. New-oil weekends in late autumn are the reason most local visitors come.