Fumane
Fumane is a municipality in the province of Verona at the heart of the Valpolicella, the hilly area north of Verona renowned world...
Updated 12 July 2026 · Sources: https://www.veronissima.com/sito_inglese/html/tour-valpolicella-villa-della-torre.html · https://www.infovalpolicella.it/ita/scopri-la-valpolicella-il-territorio-del-comune/3/fumane · https://www.amaronetours.it/verona_wine_regions/valpolicella/fumane
The story
The story of Fumane
Heart of the Valpolicella
Fumane occupies one of the most favoured valleys of the Valpolicella, the hilly area north of Verona that gives its name to the wine denomination. Terraced vine covered slopes alternate with cherry orchards and patches of woodland, in an agricultural landscape whose economy has for centuries rested on quality viticulture. Several historic wine estates are based within the municipal territory, some of which also preserve part of the area's architectural and cultural heritage.
Villa Della Torre, the Renaissance domus
Villa Della Torre is one of the most original works of Venetian Renaissance architecture, built in the second half of the sixteenth century as a free reinterpretation of the Roman domus, with a central courtyard and rooms arranged along a rigorously symmetrical layout. The designer remains uncertain, but the artistic and symbolic complexity of the building has led scholars to suggest the involvement of leading architects of the period. The villa is especially famous for the great ground floor fireplaces, carved from single blocks of stone into the shapes of a lion, sea monsters and a demonic face. The property, now owned by a major Fumane wine estate, also hosts tastings and is open for guided visits.
The Grotta di Fumane and the origins of art
Just outside the built up centre lies the Grotta di Fumane, one of the most significant archaeological sites in Europe for the study of prehistory. Inhabited for roughly fifty five thousand years, first by Neanderthal groups and later by the first Homo sapiens to reach Europe, the cave has yielded finds fundamental to understanding the transition between the two species. Among the best known discoveries is a fragment painted with red ochre depicting an anthropomorphic figure, nicknamed the Shaman, dated to around thirty five thousand years ago and considered among the oldest known pictorial evidence in Europe.
The vineyards of Amarone
Fumane's wine making vocation finds its fullest expression in Amarone della Valpolicella, a red wine made from dried grapes produced by estates across the territory alongside Valpolicella Classico and Recioto. The terraced vineyards climbing the hillsides, often supported by dry stone walls, shape an agricultural landscape that has become one of the defining features of the whole Valpolicella and one of the main reasons visitors come to Fumane.
Experiences not to miss
- Visit Villa Della Torre and its sculpted fireplaces
- Discover the finds from the Grotta di Fumane and the story of the Shaman
- Taste Amarone, Valpolicella Classico and Recioto at a local winery
- Drive the scenic roads through the terraced vineyards
- Explore the trails through the hillside contrade of the Valpolicella
To see
What to see in Fumane
Routes · Trovido Route
Routes in Fumane
Jobs · JobFlow
