Titolo: A tour to discover Marsciano and its villages - Cerqueto, Sant’Elena, Papiano, Castello delle Forme and San Valentino della Collina.

A tour to discover Marsciano and its villages - Cerqueto, Sant’Elena, Papiano, Castello delle Forme and San Valentino della Collina.

At the northwestern tip of Marsciano's territory runs "Strada della Collina," a main road connecting Perugia and Orvieto, passing into Marsciano and San Venanzo with its many charming villages. This is a route that offers incredible cultural, artistic and natural resources to the traveller.

The first village we encounter is Cerqueto, a place rich in history and art. Entering the village, dating back to the 12th century, we realize that the original nucleus has remained almost intact, with its circular layout and brick dwellings with ancient arches. Not to be missed is the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, in existence since 1163 in which it is possible to admire frescoes by Perugino and Tiberio d'Assisi.

A short distance from Cerqueto, we recognize a complex on which a tower stands out: this is the village of Sant'Elena, toward which we head the avenue that connects it to the hill road. Its structure has remained exactly that of a small fortified village, of which the tower with the access arch represents the constituent features. Inside, the village shows typical features of the fifteenth-century period, as evidenced by several brick buildings with characteristic arches. The large building that occupies a part of the small village and is well structured is Palazzo Sereni, where there is ancient furniture of the noble Sansoni family from the 16th century.

As the route continues northward, we now reach Papiano, of which there is evidence dating from 1027. Arranged on the hillside, the castle appears quite graceful to us contemporaries, and the recent restoration of the streets makes it even enchanting. The bell tower, which is entirely made of stone and has a large clock and two bells, towers impressively over the entire castle.

Across the fertile and rich Tiber plain for a short distance, we come to the fork for Castello delle Forme. The village, also located halfway up the hill, reveals all its geostrategic importance as a place of defense. All that is left of the old defensive system of this village is a tower and parts of the old walls both made of stone, which form a single body. The surrounding countryside is pleasant and lends itself to the settlement of country villas such as Villa Cucchia Taravelli, a large 19th-century complex that is currently uninhabited.

We therefore reach San Valentino della Collina; the village, which winds along the hill road, retains from its medieval period only the bell tower adjoining the parish church. Instead, the old castle has incorporated the construction of Villa Baldeschi, now Sposini, a monumental building from the 17th century. On the same street is Villa Taravelli, with Art Nouveau architecture featuring decorations by Gerardo Dottori.

From San Valentino we move to Olmeto, where our itinerary ends.

Explore the surroundings
Main attractions in the vicinity