A visual and sensory experience. The Sagrantino Museum was born in Montefalco in the San Francesco museum complex. An engaging immersive and sensual journey that starts from the ancient Franciscan cellars to discover this territory. Materials from the 18th and 19th centuries related to grape processing and cellar making, multimedia images and illustrative videos are on display. The story of DOCG grapes and wine produced exclusively in the hilly area of Montefalco and partly in the municipalities of Bevagna, Castel Ritaldi, Giano dell’Umbria and Gualdo Cattaneo.
After careful architectural repair and installation work, the Sagrantino Museum is becoming a reality in the San Francesco di Montefalco museum complex. The key themes of the new museum are: grape variety, wine, territory, tradition, culture. The tour starts from the ancient Franciscan cellars, which, thanks to the collaboration of Professor Luigi Gambacurta and Giulia Rotoloni, are already equipped with objects of local peasant tradition up to the present day. It continues with the discovery of this historic winemaking tradition among the vineyards and small villages of the area, which Benozzo Gozzoli magnificently recounted already in 1452 in his frescoes that illuminate the apse of the church of San Francesco, today a rare gem Renaissance and true pictorial cycle historical document of the agricultural landscape and the city of Montefalco. The itinerary includes materials from the 18th and 19th centuries related to the processing of grapes and production in the cellar, as well as documents, photographs and illustrative videos. The Sagrantino Museum thus becomes the gateway to discovering the area.
The Sagrantino Museum is the result of a successful synergy between the public and private sectors: it is promoted by the Municipality of Montefalco with the support of the Umbria Region and in collaboration with the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco and La Strada del Sagrantino; the extension work was directed by the architect Bruno Gori, the staging by Tractis Stefano Mosconi in collaboration with the architect Michele Giuseppe Onali, and the content edited by Maggioli Cultura e Turismo.
Few wines in Umbria are able to represent the concept of terroir like Montefalco Sagrantino, the original variety from the area. The museum reinforces the relationship of the identity of this vine with the territory of “La Strada del Sagrantino” and becomes a deeply representative experience that gives added value to the promotional activity for the entire socio-economic system of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco. Not just Sagrantino. Montefalco Rosso Doc, Montefalco Grechetto Doc and Trebbiano Spoletino Doc Montefalco are also born in these countries, which is one of the most sought-after glasses on the national wine scene today. They are wines that stay in the heart because they contain love, dedication, intelligence and stubbornness.
In the museum, the tactile landscape, never the same, which for centuries served as the background for the paintings of Benozzo Gozzoli, Perugino and Pinturicchio, comes to life. It is a handful of kilometers brimming with beauty that can be discovered step by step between Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi and Giano dell’Umbria. The Sagrantino Museum combines commerce, culture and territory to “taste” the most authentic nature of this country.
“The one from the Sagrantino Museum – explains the councilor for tourism Daniela Settimiová – it was a project in which the city administration worked carefully and meticulously to return to the San Francesco museum complex the space dedicated to Sagrantino, able to illustrate its long history. An emotional story composed of testimonies about the territory, suggestive images and videos that immerse the visitor in the engaging atmosphere of the history of our Sagrantino, the undisputed king of the territory. It was a great team effort that included the technical office of the municipality of Montefalco, the manager of Maggioli Cultura e Turismo, in particular the manager of the museum Serena Marianelli, the architect Gori, the Strada del Sagrantino, the Consorzio Tutela Vini Montefalco and the association “Study and Research of Umbrian Folk Traditions Marco Gambacurta”.
” He adds Serena Marinelli, responsible for the museum complex of San Francesco di Montefalco – is our main product, which over time has been able to place the Montefalco area and the entire Sagrantino area on an international level. Since we have had a section dedicated to the ancient Franciscan cellars since 2006, we wanted to bring this museum closer to the history of this vine and its present, how important it is to the territory and how much it identifies it. Sagrantino is not just an excellent wine, but a product that tells the story, the tradition, the beauty of this country, and we want to give the visitor the key to understanding.”