An engaging immersive and sensory journey within the St. Francis Museum Complex, starting from the ancient Franciscan cellars to the discovery of the territory. On display are materials from the 18th and 19th centuries related to grape processing and winery production, as well as multimedia images and illustrative videos.
After painstaking architectural renovation and layout work, the Sagrantino Museum inside the Museum Complex of San Francesco in Montefalco (Pg) was inaugurated on Saturday, April 20. Wine, territory and wine culture are recounted in the revamped space dedicated to Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG, a grape that gives its name to the wine produced exclusively in the hillside area of Montefalco and partly in the municipalities of Bevagna, Castel Ritaldi, Giano dell’Umbria and Gualdo Cattaneo.
A visit to the Sagrantino Museum is a visual and sensory experience. Key themes of the new museum are: grapevine, wine, territory, tradition, culture. The tour starts from the old Franciscan cellars, which have already been set up with objects from the local rural tradition thanks to the collaboration of Prof. Luigi Gambacurta and Giulia Rotoloni, to the present day. It continues with the discovery of this historic winemaking tradition among vineyards and small villages in the area, already beautifully recounted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1452 in his frescoes that illuminate the very apse of the church of San Francesco, now a rare jewel of a Renaissance pictorial cycle and a true historical document about the agricultural landscape and the town of Montefalco. The tour features 18th- and 19th-century materials related to grape processing and winery production, documents, photographs and illustrative videos. The Sagrantino Museum thus becomes a gateway to the discovery of the territory.
The Sagrantino Museum is the result of a winning synergy between the public and private sectors: is promoted by the Municipality of Montefalco with the support of the Region of Umbria and the collaboration of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco and La Strada del Sagrantino; the extension works were carried out thanks to POR FESR 2007-2013, Activity 2.2.2. and PAR FSC 2007-2013. Action 3.5.2. Financial Redefinition Regional Program referred to in D.G.R. No. 126/2010, No. 848/2011 and No. 35/2012, the construction supervision is by architect Bruno Gori, the layout by Tractis by Stefano Mosconi in collaboration with architect Michele Giuseppe Onali and the content by Maggioli Culture and Tourism.
“That of the Sagrantino Museum,” explains Tourism Councillor Daniela Settimi. has been a project in which the city administration has worked carefully and judiciously to return to the St. Francis Museum Complex a space dedicated to Sagrantino that can illustrate its long history. An emotional tale made up of testimonies of the territory, evocative images and videos that will immerse visitors in the enthralling atmosphere of the history of our Sagrantino, undisputed king of the territory. It was a great team effort that involved the Technical Office of the Municipality of Montefalco, the manager Maggioli Cultura e Turismo, with in particular the Museum manager Serena Marianelli, the architect Gori, the Strada del Sagrantino, the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco and the Association “Studio e ricerca delle Tradizioni Popolari Umbre Marco Gambacurta” to whom a heartfelt thank you is due for the support and care of the spaces dedicated to the Franciscan cellars“.
“Sagrantino,” adds Serena Marinelli, head of the San Francesco Museum Complex in Montefalco. is our flagship product that, over time, has been able to position the territory of Montefalco and the entire Sagrantino area internationally. Having already had the section dedicated to the old Franciscan cellars since 2006, we wanted with this museum to tell the story of this vine and what it is today, how important it is for the territory and how much it identifies it. Sagrantino is not just a great wine, but a product that tells the story, the tradition, the beauty of this land and we want to give back to the visitor this key“.
Few wines in Umbria manage to represent the concept of terroir as well as Montefalco Sagrantino, an indigenous variety of the area. The Museum strengthens the identity relationship of this grape variety with the territory of “La Strada del Sagrantino” and becomes a deeply representative experience to give added value to the promotional activity for the entire socio-economic system of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco.
Not just Sagrantino, though. These lands also produce Montefalco Rosso DOC, Montefalco Grechetto DOC and Trebbiano Spoletino DOC Montefalco, which is now one of the most sought-after glasses on the national wine scene. These are wines that remain in the heart because they encapsulate love, dedication, intelligence and stubbornness.
Not just Sagrantino, though. These lands also produce Montefalco Rosso DOC, Montefalco Grechetto DOC and Trebbiano Spoletino DOC Montefalco, which is now one of the most sought-after glasses on the national wine scene. These are wines that remain in the heart because they encapsulate love, dedication, intelligence and stubbornness.
The museum brings to life a tactile landscape, never the same, that over the centuries has served as the backdrop for paintings by Benozzo Gozzoli, Perugino and Pinturicchio. It is a handful of kilometers overflowing with beauty, to be discovered step by step between Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi and Giano dell’Umbria.
The Sagrantino Museum combines business, culture and territory to “taste” the most authentic nature of this land.
