MONTONEMonica & Marco

September 9, 2025

Monica and Marco met me in Montone, a walled town on a hill in Umbria with stone lanes, one quiet piazza, and hardly a soul in the streets. It was our base for all of this.

We stayed at Casale San Cristoforo, a family-run casale in the hills outside town: orchards, olive trees, long dinners, and people who look after you like relatives. They are opening the place up for weddings, and whoever books one early is lucky. If you are planning anything in Umbria, start there.

The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Morning mist in the valleys below MontoneMonica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and whiteThe hills of Umbria around Montone
Monica and Marco at Casale San CristoforoMorning mist in the valleys below Montone
The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
The hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below Montone Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
Monica and Marco in the olive groves of UmbriaThe hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below Montone
The stone lanes of MontoneMonica and Marco in the olive groves of UmbriaMonica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone
Monica and Marco at Casale San CristoforoMorning mist in the valleys below MontoneThe stone lanes of Montone
Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
The hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below MontoneThe stone lanes of MontoneMonica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white

There is a stretch of these photographs where the valleys are full of mist. That is dawn from the edge of town, and it is worth the early alarm.

The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone

Montone itself is stone on stone: lanes, arches, and a rampart with the Apennines stacked behind it. We had the streets almost to ourselves.

The stone lanes of MontoneMonica and Marco in the olive groves of UmbriaMonica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and whiteThe hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below MontoneThe stone lanes of MontoneMonica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and whiteThe hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below MontoneThe stone lanes of Montone
Monica and Marco in the olive groves of UmbriaMonica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white
The hills of Umbria around MontoneMonica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo
Morning mist in the valleys below Montone
The stone lanes of MontoneMonica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo

The last frames are from the olive groves and the open country below the town.

Morning mist in the valleys below MontoneThe stone lanes of Montone
Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria
Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and whiteThe hills of Umbria around Montone
Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone The stone lanes of Montone Monica and Marco in the olive groves of Umbria Monica and Marco in Montone, Umbria, in black and white The hills of Umbria around Montone Monica and Marco at Casale San Cristoforo Morning mist in the valleys below Montone

Everything here is black and white, straight out of camera, and delivered the same day. It is my take on analogue with a digital camera: the camera writes the JPEG, I hand it over as it is, and that is the photograph. Some frames are not perfect. All of them are real. And if you want some in colour, the raw files keep the colour, so it is an easy ask.

If you are looking for an Umbria wedding photographer, get in touch. I would go back to Montone tomorrow. There is more of this same-day black and white from the Dolomites.

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