After the visit to Arrone, we must head to Montefranco for the overnight stay. Nothing could be easier "... it's only six kilometers" in reality after having grinded over a hundred, having relaxed and with a full stomach, getting back on the bike for a dsl of only two hundred meters to reach this locality in the Valnerina Ternana, was a small sacrifice.
But everything was amply rewarded by the splendid panoramic position on the mountains and the valley ... despite the puncture as the end of the day!
Oh well in Arrone we could no longer stay. As soon as we said that we booked the overnight stay in Montefranco they had kicked us out (just kidding!).
Arrone's friend explained to us about an old rivalry born in 1228. In that year some men of Arrone left their country to escape the dominion of Rinaldo, who was running around in Val di Narca on behalf of Frederick II, and passed under the dominion of Spoleto on the Colle di Bufone which was granted to them. This new country was like a free land for the arronesi; hence the name Montefranco and the beginning of the rivalry between the two countries.
To know more:
The village of MONTEFRANCO, a town perched on a hill in the Valnerina Ternana, with a splendid panoramic position all around, recalls its origin in the toponym. Which is linked to a historical episode that took place in 1228, the year in which a group of inhabitants of Arrone, not wanting to submit to the dominion of the local lord, settled on the Bufone hill (in front of Arrone) and built a new castle here. In the name that was given to him, Montefranco, the acquired condition of a free (free) place was sanctioned.
The village, whose oldest nucleus dates back to the 9th century, retains part of the appearance and some features of the medieval castle. Porta Franca and Porta Spoletina are the main evidence of this. Do not forget the panoramic views of Montefranco that you discover while walking through the alleys of the town admiring its beautiful historical and artistic heritage. Starting with its churches. Like that of San Pietro (18th century) where the painting "The Immaculate Conception with Saints" attributed to Stefano Pozzi is preserved. In via Giuseppe Garibaldi, attention is drawn to the particular "fountain of the Wolves" which features two wolf-head sculptures from which water gushes. Of artistic interest is also the church of the Madonna del Carmine, located outside the town; the frescoes of the Umbrian school of the seventeenth century and an "Ascension" of the fifteenth century are appreciated.
In Montefranco the memory of the passage in 1444 of San Bernardino da Siena is still very vivid. He resided there for some time, before resuming the journey to L'Aquila. Some memorable episodes related to the presence of the Saint in Montefranco, of which he is patron, are recalled on the occasion of the annual celebrations in his honor. The convent complex located in Monzano, on the outskirts of the town, is dedicated to San Bernardino. It stands on the place where, according to tradition, the Franciscan Saint made spring water gush out and was built around 1454, after the faithful obtained authorization from Pope Nicholas V. In reality, a small church already existed here (datable between the 12th and 13th centuries) probably dedicated to San Primiano and where San Bernardino stopped. During the construction of the complex, the pre-existing church was transformed. Of considerable artistic value are the frescoes on the walls of the oratory, painted in the fifteenth century and attributed to the workshop of Bernardino Campilio. It depicts the "Madonna and Child Enthroned and Saints Sebastian and Francis of Assisi" (back wall) and "Saints Bernardino and Antonio da Padova" (side wall). A recent restoration has restored these paintings to their original splendor.
Source: turismo.comune.terni.it
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