Monteleone di Spoleto
Monteleone di Spoleto, is a town and comune of Italy, in the province of Perugia in southeast Umbria at 978 meters above sea-level overhanging the upper valley of the Corno River. It is one of the more remote towns in Umbria, on a mountain road from Norcia and Cascia to Leonessa and Rieti in the Lazio. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
The population of the comune was 648 in 2010, with the town proper accounting for about half of that; the frazioni of Monteleone are Butino, Rescia, Ruscio, and Trivio.
History
Monteleone is famous for one of the world's great archaeological finds: a 6th‑century BC Etruscan chariot that quickly followed the path of money and by the early 20th century had already wound up in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. A copy of the chariot is on display in Monteleone. There remain, however, few if any traces of the town's Roman days: destroyed and rebuilt by the Spoletans in the 12th century, it offers at present an essentially medieval appearance.
Main sights
The main monument in Monteleone is the 14th-century church of San Francesco, with a cloister now serving as a lapidary museum, a Gothic door and a fresco of Christ crucified in the full robes of a bishop, with a loaf of bread under one foot and a chalice of wine under the other. Under the cloister, a second church can be seen, complete with a 14th‑century fresco. Other monuments include several other medieval churches, the 15th‑century Palazzo Bernabò, and vestiges of the town's medieval walls, including a clock tower.