Montignano
The origins of the Castle of Montignano date back to 962 when Otto I of Saxony was crowned in Milan as Emperor of Germany and King of  Italy by Pope John XII and he immediately tried to gain the loyalty [...]
Villa San Faustino
The castle of Villa San Faustino was part of the Terre Arnolfe in the tenth and eleventh centuries (mentioned in documents of the abbey of Farfa 1115 and 1118). The castle, connected to the important parish chu [...]
Colpetrazzo
Castle built between 1300 and 1400, it still preserves its medieval structure. Of particular interest is the medieval main door near the small church of San Bernardino. Above the church of San Bernardino is sit [...]
Mezzanelli
The castle of Mezzanelli has followed the fortunes of the various rulers who handled its political life. Once part of Terre Arnolfe, the castle was cited in documents from 1115 and 1118 (Earls Ridolfo, Saraceno [...]
Castel Rinaldi
Medieval village built in 1160 by a certain "Rinaldo Duke of Calabria", Castel Rinaldi was part of the fief of the Arnolfi. Constantly part of Guelph, Castel Rinaldi was often the center of infighting that mark [...]
Viepri
The fortified village of Viepri is wrapped in high hills, which ensured defense for centuries and still seem to hide it. Built after 1380 on the ruins of the demolished castle of Monte Schignano, its rule was t [...]
Martani Mountains
The Martani Mountains extend evenly from south to north for about 35 km between the provinces of Perugia and Terni. They border to the east on the Umbrian Valley and Valserra, to the west on th [...]
Castelvecchio
The village is today very different from what must have appeared in the Middle Ages. Today only some ruins of the fortified village remain, hidden by vegetation. Literature attest it as one of the most [...]

Castelvecchio

The village is today very different from what must have appeared in the Middle Ages. Today only some ruins of the fortified village remain, hidden by vegetation.

Literature attest it as one of the most important and populous castles in the area (the town had about 100 families), surrounded by massive elliptical walls.

A place of passage, for its location along the path between Massa Martana, Todi and Gualdo Cattaneo, it had a hospital and seven churches under it (San Giorgio, Sant'Anastasia, Santa Cristina, San Biagio, Santa Croce, Santissima Trinità e Sant’Ippolito).

Castelvecchio's history is marked by several episodes, which made the town a scene of repeated fighting. In 1377 Catalano degli Atti head of the Guelph faction attacked the population of the Ghibelline party, who were able to protect themselves thanks to good defense that the mighty walls opposed.

In 1434 the castle was totally destroyed by the troops of Francesco Sforza. The few survivors decided to reconstruct the village further down the valley, around an important crossroads where in 1603 was built the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Castelvecchio.

The building still dominates the town, showing late Renaissance lines that little integrate with the architecture and atmosphere of medieval castles in the area.

The sanctuary was built in 1604 by the Bishop of Todi Angelo Cesi and was designed by the architect from Perugia Valentino Martelli. The church was built to commemorate a miraculous event occurred May 11, 1602. The simple lines of the structure hide a rich interior of seventeenth-century works of art, in addition to the fresco on the main altar, with the miraculous image of the Madonna con Bambino, painted in 1581 by Pietro Paolo Sensini.

On the four side altars there are fine seventeenth-century paintings: Cristo crocifisso tra San Francesco e Santa Maria Maddalena, by Ascensidonio Spacca called il Fantino, San Carlo Borromeo by Pietro Paolo Sensini and Madonna di Costantinopoli e la Santissima Concezione tra i Santi Francesco, Domenico e Antonio da Padova by Pietro Salvi da Bevagna.  Just outside the town is the pretty little church of St. Ippolito, documented since the 13th century, of an elegant Romanesque style with a semicircular apse of unusual shape and masonry in white and pink stone. The interior has a single nave and the apse preserves a seventeenth century fresco depicting “Cristo in Croce tra San Pietro e San Paolo”.

Sinkhole of Castelvecchio

Dolina is a word of Slovenian origin and simply means valley. Given that the interest in the karst phenomena developed from the Slovenian territories, international terminology has designed that term to define more precisely a karst valley, which is a typical depression of the land molded into various shapes by karst phenomena. A dolina (sinkhole) is a closed basin that would fill with water giving rise to a pond if the walls and floor were waterproof, however, usually the water is absorbed through underground tunnels. Formed by the erosive action of rainwater, the sinkhole has an elliptical form and measures 250-300 m in diameter and is about 20 m deep.

Ammonites

The Ammonites, Phylum: Mollusca - Class: Cephalopoda - Subclass: Ammonoidea, are cephalopods appeared in the Devonian (about 400 million years ago) and extinct around the Upper Cretaceous-Paleocene (ca. 65 million years ago). Ammonites were animals of marine origin whose shell was formed by calcium carbonate in the form of aragonite, while the organic part was substantially composed by conchiolina. Ammonites were classified as cephalopods and can be considered as the progenitors of today's squid and cuttlefish. The anatomical parts that you can recognize and observe in fossils of ammonites are mainly: the fragmocon and protoconch, the Chamber of Housing and the peristome.

 

 

Rocchette
Malgrado che anche questo insediamento sia in avanzato stato di degrado, conserva tuttavia sufficienti elementi architettonici che danno un quadro d' insieme abbastanza leggibile della funzione dife [...]
Castelvecchio
The village is today very different from what must have appeared in the Middle Ages. Today only some ruins of the fortified village remain, hidden by vegetation. Literature attest it as one of the [...]
Castel Rinaldi
Medieval village built in 1160 by a certain "Rinaldo Duke of Calabria", Castel Rinaldi was part of the fief of the Arnolfi. Constantly part of Guelph, Castel Rinaldi was often the center of infighti [...]
Colpetrazzo
Castle built between 1300 and 1400, it still preserves its medieval structure. Of particular interest is the medieval main door near the small church of San Bernardino. Above the church of San Berna [...]
Mezzanelli
The castle of Mezzanelli has followed the fortunes of the various rulers who handled its political life. Once part of Terre Arnolfe, the castle was cited in documents from 1115 and 1118 (Earls Ridol [...]
Montignano
The origins of the Castle of Montignano date back to 962 when Otto I of Saxony was crowned in Milan as Emperor of Germany and King of  Italy by Pope John XII and he immediately tried to gain the lo [...]
Viepri
The fortified village of Viepri is wrapped in high hills, which ensured defense for centuries and still seem to hide it. Built after 1380 on the ruins of the demolished castle of Monte Schignano, it [...]
Villa San Faustino
The castle of Villa San Faustino was part of the Terre Arnolfe in the tenth and eleventh centuries (mentioned in documents of the abbey of Farfa 1115 and 1118). The castle, connected to the importan [...]
Zampani
In the thirteenth century the village of Zampani and its inhabitants were included in the territory of the Gagliole castle that stood on top of the hill now called Torracio. The castle was destroyed [...]

Itineraries

Geo-Tourism in the Martana area
19 km - itinerary feasible by bicycle or motor vehicle  The itinerary is focused on the geology of the mountains around Massa Martana but also allows the visitor to appreciate natur [...]
Castles hopping….history and legends
9,2 Km – itinerary feasible by bicycle or motor vehicle. The tour begins with a visit to the historic center of M [...]
Monte Martano Trekking
The route is accessible on foot or by bike and is located along the ridge of the Monti Martani. Starting Point is the leisure area of Acqua Canale indicated as a interess in the route map. Continue to

Accomodation

Historical residences
Country House
Hotels
holiday home
Restaurants
Bed & breakfast