At the beginning Borgo Monticelli may have been a fortified monastery belonging to the benedictine monks of the very rich and powerful monastry of San Pietro in Perugia, the capital of Umbria. It later came under the control of aristocratic families who around 1460-1480 transformed the military structure into a summer residence by removing the military walls of the castle and by filling the empty space between the two towers of the "Torre Grande". They thereby created a large palace (Il Palazzo) and used the stones of the walls to construct several other buildings. Today all these changes are still clearly visible on the walls of the now existing buildings.
Beside the towers lies a small chapel dating from the year 1100. The chapel was originally the sacristy of a much larger church, now non existent. The church fell apart about 200 years ago. Inside the chapel there are delicate frescos painted between 1315 and 1319 by the artist Meo da Siena, a student of Giotto well known to the art-historians. The paintings have been restored and depict Christ on the cross, Our Lady with child and 7 saints, all in life-size proportions.
The first document mentioning any buildings at Monticelli dates back to the year 1115. At that time Pope Pasquale II (1099-1118) authenticated that the property of the church of San Paolo (the sacresty of which still stands at Monticelli today) belonged to the benedictine monastery of San Pietro in Perugia.
The towers and the surrounding annex buildings are to be preserved as monuments of national historic and artistic interest. The property is under protection of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Affairs. The buildings are "listed" as part of the "national endowment".
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