Melezzole

Perched on the eastern slopes of Monte Croce di Serra, Melezzole seems to emerge from the green mantle of the surrounding woods: a quiet, intact castle-village where stone has conversed for centuries with chestnut groves and pine stands.

A classic medieval fort with a circular plan, it unfolds in three concentric rings of houses that embrace the central little square dominated by the bell tower of the Church of San Biagio.

Some link the name to an abundance of apple trees; others trace it to the Roman gens Meletia. What is certain is that the earliest sources point to Umbro-Etruscan finds and, later, Roman-era evidence. From 1112 its church appears in the registers of Farfa; in the 13th century Todi steered its history, associating it with the ancient parish of Santa Maria in Gallazzano.

Between the 13th and 14th centuries Melezzole grew and fortified: together with Santa Restituta, Toscolano and Vagli it guarded the strategic Monte Picasci pass over the Tiber valley. In 1456 the community obtained permission to repair and strengthen the walls—an outline still legible in today’s lanes. Between the 15th and 16th centuries it became a vicariate seat over a wide area (including Montecchio, Tenaglie and other settlements), with administrative and judicial roles.

Early modern times brought military passages (like that of Charles VIII in 1494) and fiscal pressure; yet they also fostered local autonomy, culminating in the Comunanza Agraria (16th c.), which still protects woods and pastures.
Today Melezzole is a balcony over the Monti Amerini, renowned for its prized chestnuts and for the Fiera della Castagna, when autumn smells of embers.