Montefalco
Arnaldo Caprai
1.5 km off the line · 45 minutes
View wineryUmbria · Wine route · 2 days
Strada del Sagrantino Two days from Foligno to Spoleto through the four towns of the Sagrantino wine road association, with a night in Montefalco between the copper Carapace at Bevagna and the Rocca at Gualdo Cattaneo.
68
km end to end
2
days
6
stops, Foligno to Spoleto
2
denominations crossed
Why this drive: Sagrantino grows in Montefalco and four neighbouring towns and nowhere else, and it makes the most tannic red in Italy. This is the road through all of it: two days from the railway at Foligno to the railway at Spoleto, with a night on the balcony town in the middle. The wine road association, the Consorzio and the best enoteca on the route share one square in Montefalco. Around it are a copper winery designed by a sculptor, a 1452 fresco cycle, a 1494 fortress and an abbey from the 1100s, and cellars that open every day.
The route, drawn
2 days, drawn in two colours
Tap a day in the legend to bring its legs forward. The map follows as you scroll the stops, and a press on any marker jumps to it.
Layers
Day 1
Day 2
Numbered stops
Estates near the route
Stop 1 of 6 · Foligno
Day 1
Day 1 · Foligno to Montefalco, the balcony
1
Stop 1 · The railway start
Foligno
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe railway town on the Rome to Ancona line where the drive starts, 28 kilometres from Perugia airport and ten minutes from the first Sagrantino vines.
What to taste here
- MontefalcoDOC The DOC red, Sangiovese with a share of Sagrantino: the everyday bottle of the road, start here
- Trebbiano Spoletino The white of the Spoleto DOC, the other end of this drive, on the lists in town
Foligno sits at 234 metres with 55,000 people, a junction on the Rome to Ancona railway, and the town where the first printed Divine Comedy came off the press on 5 and 6 April 1472. Palazzo Trinci holds the museum. Five camera gates guard the old centre; the via Santa Caterina gate never switches off, the others close the streets in the evenings and on Sunday afternoons. La Mattera on Via Piazza del Grano does a 25 euro set lunch. The Quintana joust runs on a Saturday evening in June and a Sunday afternoon in September.
Where to eat
Piccione alla Mattera, the stuffed pigeon, or the 25 euro set lunch
La Mattera antiQua Osteria. Via Piazza del Grano 13; a weekly menu, paccheri alla norcina and a 25 euro fixed lunch with wine; call 393 332 2394
2
Stop 2 · Roman town and the copper shell
Bevagna
Roman Mevania on the plain below Montefalco, with a theatre, bath mosaics, two Romanesque churches on one square, and Arnaldo Pomodoro's sculpture-winery outside the walls.
What to taste here
- Montefalco SagrantinoDOCG The Carapace's Sagrantino, first released from the 2003 vintage, tasted inside Pomodoro's sculpture
- MontefalcoDOC Adanti's Rosso at Arquata, cellar open six days a week
- Arquata Umbria Bianco Adanti's white from the same hill, for the lunch table
The SR 316 out of Foligno. Bevagna is 210 metres up with 4,700 people; Piazza Silvestri holds San Michele from the late 1100s and San Silvestro, finished in 1195, both by the master builder Binello. Tenuta Castelbuono's Carapace at Vocabolo Castellaccio 9, Cantalupo, is the copper shell Arnaldo Pomodoro designed, inaugurated in June 2012 after six years' building, 30 hectares of vines, visits Monday to Sunday 10 to 1 and 2 to 6 by booking only. Adanti's cellar at Arquata opens Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 6. The Mercato delle Gaite fills the town from 17 to 28 June 2026.
Where to taste
Arnaldo Caprai
45 minutes
Wines to Try
A few wines from the estates above.
Where to eat
The farm's traditional table with tastings of its own products
Il Poggio dei Pettirossi. Via del Poggio 1, on the hill five minutes from the walls, an agriresort with a wellness centre; bookings by email only
3
Stop 3 · The balcony of Umbria
Montefalco
The Ringhiera dell'Umbria, the balcony town at 472 metres where the Sagrantino DOCG, the Consorzio, the wine road association and the best enoteca on the route all share one square.
What to taste here
- Montefalco SagrantinoDOCG The DOCG since 1992: 37 months' ageing, 12 of them in wood, before it can be sold
- Caprai 25 Anni The bottle that made modern dry Sagrantino, first made from the 1993 harvest
- Sagrantino Passito The sweet original: 100 percent Sagrantino dried on racks for at least two months
Up the SP 443 and SP 444. Piazza del Comune holds the Consorzio at number 16, the Strada del Sagrantino association at 17 and L'Alchimista at 14. The San Francesco museum on Via Ringhiera Umbra keeps Benozzo Gozzoli's 1452 fresco cycle of the life of Saint Francis, open every day with tickets online. Arnaldo Caprai at Località Torre 1, founded 1971, runs seven experiences every day from a 90-minute Tour & Food to a three-hour picnic in the vines, booked by phone or email; Antonelli San Marco, since 1883, farms 190 organic hectares at San Marco with rooms and an infinity pool; Paolo Bea is at Cerrete 8 and Tabarrini at Turrita. Sleep here.
Where to eat
Roast pigeon with a Sagrantino di Montefalco
L'Alchimista. Piazza del Comune 14, since 2001; 12 to 2.30 and 7 to 10, closed Tuesday; over 1,000 labels; book online on the site
Day 2 · The western villages and down to Spoleto
4
Stop 4 · The Rocca village
Gualdo Cattaneo
The western Sagrantino village under the Rocca the lords of Foligno built between 1494 and 1498, with Còlpetrone and Terre de la Custodia among its estates.
What to taste here
- Montefalco SagrantinoDOCG Còlpetrone and Terre de la Custodia, the western side of the zone
- Olive oil Gualdo belongs to the union of Terre dell'Olio e del Sagrantino: taste the oil beside the wine
The SP 422, Via Sant'Anna, west out of Montefalco. Gualdo Cattaneo is 446 metres up with 5,600 people and belongs to the union of Sagrantino and olive oil towns. The Rocca dominates the village; Saragano, Pozzo, Marcellano and Grutti are its hamlets. Còlpetrone and Terre de la Custodia are the two names on our shelves from here, neither with visit data in our records. No table in the village has its own site: lunch is at Giano or back at Montefalco.
5
Stop 5 · The abbey and the organic pioneer
Giano dell'Umbria
The southern member town at 546 metres, with the 12th-century Abbazia di San Felice and Moretti Omero's organic Sagrantino, open by reservation only.
What to taste here
- Montefalco SagrantinoDOCG Moretti Omero, organic since 1992, Decanter Best in Show 2020, by reservation only
- MontefalcoDOC The same estate's Rosso, a Three Glasses wine in the 2019 vintage
The SP 415 and SP 452 south. Giano is a town of oil as much as wine, a member of both the Città dell'Olio and the Città del Vino. The Abbazia di San Felice was built in the 12th century in the Spoleto Romanesque style and enlarged in the 1500s. Moretti Omero at Località San Sabino 19 has been certified organic since 1992 and opens only on reservation; its Sagrantino took a Decanter Best in Show in 2020. No restaurant here has its own site.
6
Stop 6 · The end of the road
Spoleto
ZTL city, see the driving notesThe end of the road and the home of Spoleto DOC and Trebbiano Spoletino, a hill city with a station on the Rome line, a festival in June and July, and a moving walkway up from the car park.
What to taste here
- SpoletoDOC Trebbiano Spoletino, the DOC white the Consorzio protects alongside Sagrantino
- Montefalco SagrantinoDOCG One last glass on the terrace before the train
The SP 451, the Strada di La Bruna, runs 26 kilometres south-east through the vines below Castel Ritaldi to Spoleto. Leave the car at Spoletosfera, 414 places, and ride the moving walkway to Piazza della Libertà, Monday to Friday 7 to 8.30 in the evening, weekends from 8.30; the Posterna car park is open around the clock. Apollinare on Via Sant'Agata 14 is set inside the 13th-century walls of the old convent of Sant'Apollinare. The Festival dei Due Mondi runs from 26 June to 12 July 2026 and takes every bed.
Where to eat
The chef's Umbrian tasting inside the old convent walls
Ristorante Apollinare. Via Sant'Agata 14, in the 13th-century walls of the convent of Sant'Apollinare; call 0743 223256 or book online
Before you go
The practicalities
Visit prices are set by the winery and availability should be checked before travelling. Bookings open on the estate page or the provider's site.
When to go
October is the Sagrantino harvest
Sagrantino is picked late, in the second and third weeks of October at most estates, some from the end of September, so mid-October is the road at work. September has Enologica Montefalco, the Consorzio's food-and-wine weekend, from 18 to 20 September 2026. June is festivals: the Mercato delle Gaite fills Bevagna from 17 to 28 June 2026 and the Festival dei Due Mondi fills Spoleto from 26 June to 12 July 2026, when beds vanish. Montefalco's Fuga del Bove is in August. The Consorzio's trade preview, A Montefalco, is 26 to 28 April 2026.
Booking reality
Caprai runs seven visits a day, most others want a call
Two estates on this road have visit data in our records. Arnaldo Caprai lists three experiences, none bookable online, and its own site shows seven, every day, from a 90-minute Tour & Food to a three-hour picnic, booked by phone or email. Lungarotti, off the route at Torgiano, is the only Umbrian estate with online booking in our data. From the estates' own pages read for this route: the Carapace opens Monday to Sunday 10 to 1 and 2 to 6 by booking only; Adanti's cellar at Arquata is walk-in Monday to Saturday 9.30 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 6; Moretti Omero opens on reservation only; Antonelli takes bookings by email; Tabarrini's visits page still says coming soon.
Driving notes
Provincial roads all the way, and two stations
Perugia airport to Foligno is 28 kilometres on the SS 75, half an hour. Foligno to Bevagna is the SR 316; Bevagna to Montefalco the SP 443 and SP 444, a climb of 260 metres in seven kilometres. Day two leaves Montefalco west on the SP 422, Via Sant'Anna, drops to Gualdo Cattaneo, follows the SP 415 and SP 452 south to Giano, then the SP 451, the Strada di La Bruna, runs 26 kilometres to Spoleto. All two-lane, all quiet, all slow behind an olive lorry in November. Fuel at Foligno, Bevagna and Spoleto; the two hill villages on day two have little. Foligno's centre has five camera gates and Spoleto's inner zone shuts to visitors on Saturdays and Sundays in summer; Montefalco and Bevagna are small walled towns where the sensible place to park is outside the gate you walk in through.
ZTL
Foligno has five gates, Spoleto shuts at weekends
Foligno's old centre has five camera gates: via Santa Caterina runs 24 hours; via XX Settembre, via Garibaldi and via San Giovanni dell'Acqua close the streets from 7.30 or 8 in the evening on weekdays and from 2 in the afternoon on Sundays; via Cairoli on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. Spoleto's ZTL A, with gates at viale Matteotti, piazza San Domenico, Porta San Lorenzo and via Esterna delle Mura, admits visitors Monday to Friday from 6 to 8.30 in the evening between 4 May and 13 September 2026 and shuts all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Park at Spoletosfera, 414 places with a moving walkway to the centre, or at the Posterna, open around the clock. Fines arrive by post months later.
Getting a car
Collect at Perugia airport, or come by train
Perugia airport is 28 kilometres from Foligno, half an hour on the SS 75. Foligno and Spoleto are both stations on the Rome to Ancona line, 31 kilometres apart on the SS 3 Flaminia, so a one-way hire from one to the other works, or a train from Rome to Foligno and a car from there. Four guided tours in our data cover Montefalco and Bevagna without a car, one of them a day trip from Rome and one a Vespa tour.
Leave the driving out
Do this route with a guide
Some booking links earn italianwines.co.uk a commission. This never affects price or what we recommend.
Guided along this route
Someone drives the whole itinerary above
Amazing Umbria: Spoleto, Montefalco, and Bevagna from Rome
Escape the heat and chaos of Rome to spend a tranquil day in Umbria. Our private day trip to The Green Heart of Italy features the marvelous Medieval villages of Spole...
10 hours
From €379
Book via
Rome and Umbria by E-Bike: Premium 5-Day Tour with Transfer
It's so much more than just riding a bike. Our trips blend relaxation and adventure, alternating bike rides and hikes to give you an unforgettable experience, tailored...
5 days
From €1,646
Book via
Bevagna E-Bike Farm to Table
Picture yourself riding through the vineyards and olive groves, exploring the medieval traditions of Bevagna while having an espresso in a Roman amphitheater. Stop for...
6 hours
From €180
Book via
Before you ask
Strada del Sagrantino, answered
It is an association, set up under Umbria's wine road law of 22 December 1999, with its seat at Piazza del Comune 17 in Montefalco. Its members are four towns, Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo and Giano dell'Umbria, plus 26 wineries, five oil mills, five restaurants and a handful of hotels. It publishes walking trails rather than one road, so our drive joins its four towns in order and adds the two railway towns at either end.
About 68 kilometres and an hour and a half of driving, spread over two days with a night in Montefalco. Day one is 17 kilometres, day two 51. For a single day, do Foligno, Bevagna and Montefalco and come back down: Montefalco to Foligno is 20 minutes.
At one cellar door. Adanti at Arquata, outside Bevagna, opens Monday to Saturday, 9.30 to 12.30 and 2.30 to 6. Everyone else wants a booking: Caprai by phone or email for its seven daily experiences, the Carapace by phone or email, Moretti Omero by reservation only, Antonelli by email. L'Alchimista in Montefalco pours from more than a thousand labels if you would rather taste at a table.
Foligno: outside the five camera gates of the old centre. Spoleto: at Spoletosfera, 414 places with a moving walkway up to Piazza della Libertà, or the Posterna, open 24 hours; the inner zone shuts to visitors at weekends in summer. Montefalco and Bevagna are small walled towns: park outside the gate you walk in through.
October. Sagrantino is one of Italy's latest grapes, picked in the second and third weeks of October at most estates and from the end of September at a few. Enologica Montefalco, the Consorzio's public weekend, is 18 to 20 September 2026, and the trade preview A Montefalco is 26 to 28 April 2026.
A black grape grown only in Montefalco and four neighbouring towns, with the highest tannins of any Italian variety. The dry red has been a DOCG since 1992 and must age 37 months, 12 in wood, before sale. The sweet Passito, the older style, is 100 percent Sagrantino dried on racks for at least two months. Montefalco Rosso, the DOC, is the Sangiovese blend with a share of Sagrantino that most people drink on a weeknight.
The winery of Tenuta Castelbuono at Bevagna, a copper dome designed by the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro and inaugurated in June 2012 after six years' building. The Lunelli family bought the 30-hectare estate in 2001. It opens Monday to Sunday, 10 to 1 and 2 to 6, by booking only.
Spoleto has a station on the Rome to Ancona line, so the train back to Foligno is 31 kilometres or a short ride. Assisi is 30 kilometres north of Foligno; Torgiano, where Lungarotti books its visits online, is 40 minutes north-west. The Cantico wine road towards Perugia and the Etrusco-Romana road to Orvieto are the region's other two drives.
Take it with you
Save the one estate on this road as a trip
They land in a trip named after the route, in drive order. Reorder them, drop one, add a night, before you book anything.
You'll need to sign in, and we bring you straight back to this route.
