The Village
Monterchi is located on the border between Tuscany and Umbria, overlooking the Cerfone Valley, and surrounded by sunflower fields, olive trees, tobacco, and wheat. The town centre is built on a hill, 356 metres above sea level. The streets of the centre, such as Via dei Medici or Via della Misericordia, are charming with beautiful buildings, like Palazzo Massi with its castellated decoration, which recall the period of the XVI century.
The first document that mentions Monterchi dates back to 1095. A very ancient village, with origins in the Etrusco-Roman times, as a sacred place of the cult of Hercules. The name Monterchi is derived from Mons Erculis, the hill of Hercules. Following the famous Battle of Anghiari (1440) the town came under the rule of Florence, and later in 1643 under the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Around 1460, the great painter Piero della Francesca dedicated the fresco, “The Madonna del Parto”, one of the most important Renaissance works of art, to his mother (Romana di Perino da Monterchi), who was born in Monterchi.
Among the most important monuments to see in Monterchi are the Pieve Romanica (Romanic Parish), the Chiesa di San Simeone (Saint Simeone Church) and the Museo delle Bilance e Pesi (Museum of the Balances and Weights).
Among the numerous celebrations taking place in Monterchi, the most important is the traditional “Polenta Festival” held annually in September.
Monterchi is featured in “The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany,” a Thames and Hudson’s publishing.
