Medieval village of Montegabbione

The town of Montegabbione, which easily remains far from obvious tourist itineraries, is a simple medieval village in the province of Terni. Montegabbione is situated at an altitude of 594 metres above sea level on one of the hills of the pre-Apennines, in a particularly strategic position: halfway between Orvieto and Perugia (about 40 Km from each one), between Rome and Florence (about 140 Km from both), between the lake of Bolsena and Lake Trasimeno(about 60 Km from both).

The village retains much of the original urban structure with its imposing medieval city wall, the Castle, which was the first nucleus of Montegabbione (around the year 1000), the tower at the entrance of the village (XV century), has a clear military structure. Just outside the walls is the church of Madonna delle Grazie, built in 1625, inside a beautiful fresco depicting the Madonna del Latte (dating back to the sixteenth century). Nearby, do not miss the ruins of the Abbey of Aqualta, Casteldifiori Castle, the Castle in Montegiove and the beautiful Franciscan monastery of Scarzuola, founded by St Francis of Assisi in 1218.

In 1956 the monastery was bought and restored by the Milanese architect Tomaso Buzzi, who between 1958 and 1978, next to the convent, designed and built the Scarzuola, his ideal city, conceived as "theatrical machine". The Buzziana City, which includes a set of seven theatres, has got its own Acropolis: a mountain of buildings constructed by a series of archetypes which, hollow, with many compartments as a termite mound, detect multiple perspectives. The territory is characterized by a spectacular hilly landscape: the slopes are covered with olive groves and vineyards, thanks to fertile soil, they provide high quality products already known since Roman times.