Overview

Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club

Valfornace is a small town in the province of Macerata established on 1 January 2017 by merging the municipalities of Pievebovigliana and Fiordimonte. The origins of the settlement date back to the Romanesque era, when it was a station on the transit route to Umbria. During the Early Middle Ages it was taken over by the Benedictine monks and later it passed under the authority of the Da Varano family. The attraction of this town, long a meeting point for different peoples, originates from its landscape made up of medium to high hills: to its sides are valleys that lead, on one side, to the fertile Marche plain and, on the other, to mountain pastures, a prelude to the characteristic landscape of the Sibillini mountains. The national park of the same name includes part of this territory and offers plenty of excursions and walks. The Church of S. Maria Assunta in Pievebovigliana, a Romanesque structure whose interior was rebuilt in neoclassical style, houses a precious crypt recovered in 1930. The museum complex, based in the Town Hall, traces the social and artistic history of the territory, from prehistory through to today. It encompasses the “V. Cianfarani” Archaeological Museum, the “R. Campelli” Civic Museum, the Historical Museum of the Territory, a collection of woodcuts by Maria Ciccotti, and the Gino Marotta Collection. The town holds artisan workshops dedicated to the production of handmade fabrics crafted using the “licetti” technique, and it is also possible to buy local typical food products, such such the ancient Mistrà liqueur, prepared with unripe aniseed seeds macerated in alcohol for 40 days, famous as a digestive and in coffee. Due to the earthquake of 2016, we suggest checking the state of the area and the viability of the monuments.