Titolo: A tour to discover Marsciano and its villages - Castiglione della Valle, Monticelli, San Biagio della Valle and Badiola

A tour to discover Marsciano and its villages - Castiglione della Valle, Monticelli, San Biagio della Valle and Badiola

An evocative route along the ancient Settevalli road that connects Perugia to the hamlets of Badiola, Villanova, San Biagio della Valle, Monticelli and Castiglione della Valle - the small villages that "tell" the great stories about the past of these splendid lands. In these areas where human settlement dates back to the prehistoric period, as evidenced by archaeological discoveries such as a tomb from the Rinaldonian age and a 6th-century BC Attic amphora.

 

Located at the northernmost point of the municipality of Marsciano is Badiola. This village gains its name from a small 11th-century abbey that no longer exists, but the parish church of San Benedetto remains in its memor. The 16th-century portal bears carved on it the coat of arms of the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro in Perugia, which owned it in the past, and the interior contains a fresco by Carlo Dell'Amico.

 

Taking the Settevalli road again, the first fork in the road on the left leads to the pretty little village called Villanova. The name of the castle first appears in a document from 1060. All that remains of the ancient castle are portions of the walls and a 15th-century noble palace with brick arches, which over the centuries belonged to various aristocratic families from Perugia. Of fine workmanship is the wooden crucifix dating from about 1500, kept in the parish church of Santa Maria Annunziata and San Pastore, originally displayed in a Perugia church.

 

Continuing the journey of discovery of small villages, we return to Settevalli Street and then turn toward San Biagio della Valle. From the slope that leads gently toward the village, we catch a glimpse of the characteristic stone and circular-shaped Tower of San Biagio, the only surviving evidence of the old castle known as early as the 14th century. Conquered by the famous commander Braccio Fortebraccio, the village came under the jurisdiction do Porta Eburnea in 1428. The old castle also boasted an 11th-century Romanesque-style church demolished in 1952, the presence of which witnessed only by the Romanesque-style bell tower and two stones at the altar bearing an inscription and the date 1215. The portal of the ancient church, can be admired in the cloister of the monastery of St. Peter in Perugia.

On a low hill, along the road between Pieve Caina and Castiglion della Valle and in the middle of the Nestore Valley, stands the fairy-tale complex of Monticelli Castle. Built in the 12th century for defensive purposes, it has undergone numerous renovations, also related to historical-political changes, which changed both its appearance and function, becoming over time a noble residence. The village of Monticelli is currently an important historical residence, on which there is a bond of the Superintendence of Umbria. A little further down the castle, there is the 12th-century Church of St. Paul and St. Ubaldo, where important frescoes by Meo da Siena are kept, which after careful restoration make the small church among the major beauties of the historical, artistic and cultural heritage of the area.

A few kilometers from Monticelli Castle, on a small hill, stands the hamlet of Castiglione della Valle, of which there are records as far back as the 12th century.  The castle has a circular layout and is fortified by walls and towers, one of which has been adapted as a bell tower. In the square stands the parish church of St. John the Baptist, rebuilt in 1892 over the previous one in the eclectic Romanesque-Gothic style, the work of Perugia architect Nazareno Biscarini. The facade features decorative elements in terracotta. Outside the walls is the church Santa Maria del Fosso with important 15th- and 16th-century frescoes by an unknown painter of the school of Tiberius of Assisi. Not far from the village is the 15th-century Chapel of the Crucifix, with a 16th-century Redeemer on the Cross and an ex-voto from 1554.

Explore the surroundings
Main attractions in the vicinity