The toponyme Mons Herculis , from which Monterchi comes from doubtlessly remind you of the pagan rites which Valtiberina was rich in.

For example, there was very practiced the adoration for some water sources where pregnant women and puerperae went to quest for protection for themselves and for the unborn children, and to get abundant milk: the several Milk Madonna, Wood Madonna or Birth Madonna were omnipresent throughout the valley and even in Monterchi there are many witnesses of that.

For example as a gift for the Virgin in the 15th century the church of the Beautiful Madonna (Madonna Bella) was built up in Pocaia site, or there are news telling that up to 18th century in the Saint Antimo Parish Church the Baptism was celebrated by immersion.

It’s not casual that just there Piero painted a portrait of his mother, whose face became that of the very Saint Mother, the Madonna.

It is useful to add that the road whereby Santa Maria in Momentana lays is but a tributary way to Romea way, the ancient one of Pilgrims that from the North went to Holy Land passing by Monte Sant’Angelo in Puglia. But that land is not only full of mystical references; it is also the land of Homo Salvatico, a man who used to live alone through the Murcia wood, probably a poacher. 

Nowadays the Murcia area, easily reachable by car, by mountain bike or on foot is a charming place, rich in past souvenirs like the ruins of the Romanic Church of San Martino placed through wonderful chestnut trees woods.

Monterchi is a small village within the Province of Arezzo at the border between Toscana and Umbria, between Sansepolcro village and Città di Castello Village.

It lays fortressed upon the ancient Mons Herculis and develops throughout the hills that slope down towards the Tevere River Valley, studded with ancient medieval parish churches and monasteries spread over that land: the San Benedetto Monastery, just attached to the town walls, San Simeone in a central position, San Biagio in Pocaia, San Michele Arcangelo in Pianezze, Santa Maria in Scandolaia, San Michele Arcangelo in Padonchia, San Lorenzo in Ricciano, where at he end of August the traditional Confraternita of the Misericordia (Mercy Brothers Party) is set.

About the Art

Even the historical centre preserves a medieval charm, despite of the destructions due to several earthquakes, and in the small roads there are small shops and featuring refreshment points. Therefore, what make Monterchi universally known is the presence of the fresco that Piero della Francesca painted there about in 1459: the Madonna del Parto (Madonna of the Naissance).

As it has masterly recovered in 1992, the work nowadays is protected by an air-conditioned box placed in the small museum that was dedicated to it in Via della Reglia , and it can be visited even without previous booking. Thus to go to Monterchi means ideally to complete an Art route linked to Piero’s frescoes, including even the visit to the Civic Museum in Sansepolcro and to the Church of San Francesco in Arezzo, but it sublimates itself while looking at a landscape that nowadays is still intact, that one painted by Piero della Francesca in his works, as lit up by the same light that he perceived.

During the Summer the garden of the Museum of Madonna del Parto hosts a well known musical season, in which Jazz and Classic Music are provided and played by international fame artists. Other important cultural dates in Monterchi are the Literature Prize for Children named: "C’era una volta" ("Once upon a time…") that develops on the last saturday of May by the Communal Theatre, the Convention named: "Poesie nel Cassetto" ("Poems in the drawer") that lead famous poets to Monterchi along with a few of the most important international organizations that care about social problems, and the Popular Theatre Season named "Paesi a Teatro" ("Villages at Theatre"), during which, since March to April, various local companies have the chance to let themselves be known and perform on the stage of the Communal Theatre.

Food & Wine

A visit to Monterchi is pleasant even for tasting the simple and genuine recipes, suggested by various welcoming and featuring restaurants. Dealing with that it is impossibile not to remember the Sagra della Polenta (Polenta Feast), that develops in the third sunday of September : it is an inalienable date for real gourmet who can savour various typical recipes of peasant tradition based on maize. At half of January, usually the 17th, the Festa di Sant Antonio (Sant Antonio Feast) is set in Piazza Mercatale, during which the agricultural machines are shown out and the tasting of products coming from the pork butchering is suggested; while on the second Sunday of October, the Gourmets Fair (Fiera dei Bongustai) gives you the chance to know and appreciate the best products of wine and food tradition of Valtiberina (Tevere Valley).

Food Products
Wood and Underwood

If season allows it the wood area of Low Valtiberina between Toscana and Umbria, just where Monterchi village lays on, is rich in mushrooms; the truffles instead seem to have found their own natural habitat in that area so that they can grow every year according to the seasons suitable for the different species (White and Precious Black Truffles since Autumn time to Wintertime, March truffles or Marzuola in the Springtime and Summer Truffle or Scorzone in the Summertime). On the slopes between the Tevere side of Alpe di Catenaia and the ridges of Monti Rognosi you can find almost the same spontaneous vegetating species than in Casentino Valley (Large leaves trees like Oaks and Turkey Oaks, up to Chestnut trees and Beeches and eventually the coniferous woods: pine trees and firs).

Pan di Lepre (Hare Bread)

Ingredients: 300 gr. of hare lean meat - one onion - 50 gr. of grated Parmigiano cheese - 80 gr. of butter - 6 egg yolks - 80 gr. of flour - 50 gr. of raw ham - 1/2 litre of milk - 1 litre of concentrated game broth - salt

Proceeding: Brown the hare meat with ham and onion in 40 gr of butter. Add the broth efore finishing the cooking. mash everything in a mortar and wet it by the brotth. After preparing a bechamel join it to the mix with the eggs yolks and all the rest. Put the mix in a teflon® covered mould and cook in a bain-marie. Serve it cold.