Museum · Cupramontana

Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino - Musei in Grotta

Cupramontana, IT 4.5 (17 Google reviews)

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Tucked beneath an 18th-century monastery in the Marche hill town of Cupramontana, the Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino (International Wine Label Museum) turns a small piece of paper into a full-blown story of art, commerce and community. It is part of the MIG – Musei in Grotta complex, a cluster of exhibition spaces opened in 2016 inside the cellars, tunnels and caves of the old Monastery of Santa Caterina, carved into the local sandstone. The label museum itself is described as unique of its kind in Europe.↗↗

Cupramontana calls itself the capital of Verdicchio, the crisp white grape that defines this corner of the Province of Ancona, and the museum makes that identity legible through tens of thousands of bottle labels gathered from the 1800s to today. The visit is short, charming and unusual—roughly an hour or so—and it sits at the heart of a town that lives and breathes wine, with the tourist office, a wine-tasting enoteca and a monastic herb garden all folded into the same cave complex.↗↗

A museum carved into a monastery

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Museum · Cupramontana

Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino - Musei in Grotta

Cupramontana, IT 4.5 (17 Google reviews)

Photo: Google Maps

AT A GLANCE

Why go?

Tucked beneath an 18th-century monastery in the Marche hill town of Cupramontana, the Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino (International Wine Label Museum) turns a small piece of paper into a full-blown story of art, commerce and community. It is part of the MIG – Musei in Grotta complex, a cluster of exhibition spaces opened in 2016 inside the cellars, tunnels and caves of the old Monastery of Santa Caterina, carved into the local sandstone. The label museum itself is described as unique of its kind in Europe.↗↗

Cupramontana calls itself the capital of Verdicchio, the crisp white grape that defines this corner of the Province of Ancona, and the museum makes that identity legible through tens of thousands of bottle labels gathered from the 1800s to today. The visit is short, charming and unusual—roughly an hour or so—and it sits at the heart of a town that lives and breathes wine, with the tourist office, a wine-tasting enoteca and a monastic herb garden all folded into the same cave complex.↗↗

A museum carved into a monastery

The setting is half the experience. The MIG complex occupies the basement of the ancient Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria e Maddalena, which was already part of Cupramontana's castle walls around the year 1000. In 1366 it merged with a second Benedictine house, Santa Caterina e Margherita; by the 16th century the rule had shifted to the Franciscans and the nuns took to the cloistered life. From 1751 the monastery gained a round church, left unfinished, crowned by a dome resting on eight Corinthian columns.↗

Inside, the old monastic rooms keep an 18th-century character, with brick barrel and cross vaults overhead, and a labyrinth of tunnels and caves scooped out of the sandstone. Since 2016 these vaulted cellars—some once used for wine-making by the convent and by private owners—have housed the museum's themed rooms, so you move through a genuine piece of local architectural history as you look at the collection.↗

The world on a bottle label

The label museum gathers around 60,000 specimens and is organised into three sections. The first traces the history of the wine label from 1800 to 1950, showing how these small printed strips evolved from plain identity tags into crafted design. The second displays label-format works created by contemporary artists, including Carlo Carrà-generation names such as Fazzini, Cascella, Fiume and Rambaldi, who treated the label as a canvas. The third is a global survey, collecting labels from 57 wine-producing countries.↗

Read together, the sections make an unexpectedly rich argument about graphic design, social change and the marketing of a region's flagship wine. The museum also runs an educational workshop, the "Pubblicitari nati" (Born Advertisers) laboratory, which makes it a lively stop for families and school groups.↗↗

More than labels: the whole MIG complex

The label museum is only one thread in the Musei in Grotta weave. The complex also holds Cupramontana's tourist office, which doubles as the first stop on the visit and the hinge that splits the exhibition into 'past' and 'future'; the EnoCupra tasting and sales area, where you can sample the local Verdicchio after seeing its labels; the Strada del Gusto (taste road) association; and the Horto de I Semplici, a social botanical garden in the monastery's former kitchen garden that grows the herbs once used in traditional and monastic kitchens.↗↗↗

This is what gives a short museum visit its rhythm: wander the caves and the label archive, then step into the enoteca for a glass, or out into the herb garden. The tourist office inside the complex can also point you toward walking and cycling routes through the surrounding vineyard hills.↗↗

Verdicchio country and the winery trail

The museum's label archive is the anchor for an enogastronomic itinerary through Cupramontana's hill wineries, several of whose labels are preserved in the collection. Following the museum's recommended route, you can visit estates such as Colonnara (founded 1959 and among the region's benchmark producers), La Marca di San Michele, Cherubini, Vallerosa Bonci, Colle Jano, Di Giulia, La Distesa and Sparapani, plus the small Molesto microbrewery—tasting Verdicchio and other local wines where they are made.↗↗

The town's calendar keeps wine front and centre. The Sagra dell'Uva, one of Italy's oldest wine festivals, takes place around the first Sunday of October and the three days before it; the annual Premio Etichetta d'Oro (Gold Label Award) celebrates the very graphic art the museum collects; and events like the Corpus Domini flower festival (Infiorata) and a Monday morning market round out a visit.↗↗

Planning your visit

Plan around the seasons: the museum's own listing gives opening in the summer months, June through September, Monday to Saturday 10.30–12.30 and 16.30–19.30, and Sundays 16.30–19.30. Outside that window, or if you are travelling specifically for the caves and label rooms, it is worth confirming hours and booking the visit through the tourist office before you set out.↗↗

Entry is symbolic—the Ministry of Culture records a full ticket of about €2, with no reduced rate listed. The complex is good for children and is reached by a wheelchair-accessible entrance with accessible parking and restrooms. Allow roughly an hour to an hour and a half for the museum itself, and add time for a tasting at EnoCupra or a paired winery visit if you want a fuller Verdicchio day.↗↗↗

About this guide

Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below; this is not a first-hand visit. Place details collected October 5, 2026. Hours, access and ratings can change; confirm with the venue before visiting.

Finding your next place…

Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino - Musei in Grotta

Why go?

A museum carved into a monastery

More of Italy: Orvieto

Finding your next place…

Museo Internazionale dell'Etichetta del Vino - Musei in Grotta

Why go?

A museum carved into a monastery

More of Italy: Orvieto

The world on a bottle label

More than labels: the whole MIG complex

Verdicchio country and the winery trail

Planning your visit

About this guide