Monteforte D'alpone – historic trails and wine landscape

Historic traces between the hill and the town centre

Historic landmarks, religious sites and trails through the landscape can be found in Monteforte d’Alpone. A prominent starting point is the hill with the remains of the former castle. The Chapel of Sant’Antonio Abate stands there; it was built between the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The castle’s former defensive tower has been preserved as the chapel’s bell tower. This means that the site reveals not only a religious building but also part of the former fortifications.

Further artistic and historical connections can be found in the Palazzo Vescovile. The palace chapel houses a fresco of the Nativity of Mary from 1534 by Francesco Torbido. In September 1581, the Palazzo also hosted Empress Maria of Austria for one night as she travelled to Spain with her brother Maximilian of Bohemia. The parish church of Monteforte d’Alpone preserves frescoes by Giovanni Bevilacqua from the early 20th century. It is also home to the Cristo Moro, a large boxwood crucifix dating from 1500 that was restored and transferred to the church.

Trails through vineyards, fields and contrade

For exploring the area on foot, the Sentiero delle Contrade Storiche offers an easy 7.3 km circular trail between Brognoligo and Costalunga. Another route presents the landscape up close: the Sentiero tra Campi, Corti e Filari passes through fields, vineyards, ditches, country roads and scattered farmsteads and is almost completely flat. This trail is designated for inclusive use with a wheelchair and a Joëlette. The designation describes the intended form of use, but does not replace further information about the trail conditions.

Mons Fortis, passi nella storia is a municipal trekking route for families. It leads on foot or by bicycle from the Bishop’s Square through the oldest contrada to a wayside shrine on the edge of town. The landscape of Monteforte d’Alpone also offers a suitable thematic option for mountain-biking enthusiasts. Those interested in smaller religious landmarks can include the Percorso 10 Capitelli. It begins at Piazza Silvio Venturi, is signposted with wooden signs and supplemented by additional signs naming the wayside shrines reached along the route.

Chapels, pilgrimage connections and winegrowing

In Brognoligo lies the Grotta di Lourdes, a replica of the Lourdes grotto with a statue of the Madonna. It was inaugurated in early September 1948 and contains a copy of the Bernardette statue from Lourdes made of Carrara marble. In the Borgolecco district, Benedetto Boniotti added the Oratorio di San Carlo Borromeo to the property built by his family in the early 17th century. The former altarpiece of this oratory was created by Claudio Ridolfi and depicted the Virgin Mary with the Child, as well as Saints Carlo Borromeo, Francis of Assisi and John the Baptist.

Monteforte d’Alpone is a growing area for Soave Classico and Recioto di Soave wines. For travel to the area, the town is served by the regional bus routes ATV 226 and X02.

More destinations in the same selection

If you would like to extend your travel planning beyond Monteforte D'alpone, the same selection also includes Caselle Di SommacampagnaCaselle Di Sommacampagna, CorbioloCorbiolo, Selva Di PrognoSelva Di Progno, Sant'ambrogio Di ValpolicellaSant'ambrogio Di Valpolicella, Roveré VeroneseRoveré Veronese, NegrarNegrar, SommacampagnaSommacampagna and Villa BartolomeaVilla Bartolomea.

For the overarching travel overview: Verona.