What is Montone known for?

The condottiero made Count of Montone in 1414 by Antipope John XXIII, who briefly ruled Perugia and shaped fifteenth-century Italian war. Umbria Film Festival held in the borgo every July since 1997, co-founded with Terry Gilliam and running independent cinema for nearly thirty years. A relic-thorn from Christ's crown given to Montone by Carlo Fortebracci after Venetian naval service, processed twice a year in costume.

When is the best time to visit Montone?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the steady months. The Umbria Film Festival runs in mid-July under Terry Gilliam's patronage, and the borgo doubles for that week with screenings in the piazze and the Rocca. The August Donazione della Spina pageant, the week after Ferragosto, fills the streets with medieval costumes and a Rocca di Braccio banquet. July is hot and Ferragosto is when the centro storico empties to the air-conditioned cars going elsewhere. November through March is quiet, with shorter church and museum hours, and the upper Tiber valley below catching morning fog that lifts by ten.

Montone is a comune in the province of Perugia, Umbria region of Italy, about 44 kilometers from Perugia.

How do I get to Montone?

From Perugia, Montone is roughly 44 km by road.

Umbria · Perugia

Montone

A walled medieval hill town above the upper Tiber, birthplace of the condottiero Braccio Fortebracci.

Known for

BRACCIO FORTEBRACCI
The condottiero made Count of Montone in 1414 by Antipope John XXIII, who briefly ruled Perugia and shaped fifteenth-century Italian war.
FILM FESTIVAL
Umbria Film Festival held in the borgo every July since 1997, co-founded with Terry Gilliam and running independent cinema for nearly thirty years.
DONAZIONE DELLA SPINA
A relic-thorn from Christ's crown given to Montone by Carlo Fortebracci after Venetian naval service, processed twice a year in costume.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Montone sits on a ridge above the upper Tiber valley, thirty kilometers north of Perugia. The walled centro storico is small enough to circuit in fifteen minutes and steep enough that the route is the climb. The town is the cradle of the Fortebracci, the condottieri family whose most famous member, Braccio da Montone, was made Count of Montone in 1414 by Antipope John XXIII.

The Rocca di Braccio at the top of the hill and the Rocca d'Aries six kilometers out are both Fortebracci works. The Gothic Chiesa di San Francesco, built around 1300 where the family had its houses, holds the Pinacoteca with a Bartolomeo Caporali altarpiece. The Donazione della Spina, a relic-thorn from Christ's crown given to the town by Carlo Fortebracci after the Venetians thanked him for naval service against the Turks, is processed twice a year, on Easter Monday and during the August week after Ferragosto. Since 1997 the Umbria Film Festival has run here every July, founded with Terry Gilliam.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Montone’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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What to see

Chiesa di San Francesco
Gothic church of around 1300 with a fourteenth-century convent, picture gallery and cloister, on the hill where the Fortebracci had their houses.
Rocca di Braccio
Fortress at the top of the borgo rebuilt under Oddo III Fortebracci in the late fourteenth century, now a panoramic ramparts walk.
Rocca d'Aries
Castle six kilometers from the centro storico, the first Fortebracci stronghold according to tradition, restored and reopened to visit.
Museo Comunale di San Francesco
Museum in the former Franciscan convent with a Caporali altarpiece, Della Robbia ceramics and the Donazione della Spina reliquary.
Piazza Fortebraccio
Small main square between the Palazzo Comunale and the Collegiata, framed by stone buildings from the medieval and Renaissance centuries.

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Living here

Population 1,580
In-betweeni
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Ancona / Pescara, 2 h 0 min drive
Regional capital Perugia, 42 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 482 m
Population: 1,580
Surface area: 51.1 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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