San Bevignate is a church in

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

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, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It dates to the mid 13th century, and was expanded by the

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

in the 1280s. It is notable for its 13th-century frescoes. It is named for San Bevignate, the local patron saint of the

flagellant Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dwel ...

movement.

Church

The church was built between 1256-1262 and measures 39.5 meters by 17 meters and stands 27 meters tall. Located on the south side were a large elaboration of monastic buildings which would have been surrounded by a wall. San Bevignate follows typical Templar architecture, being a large rectangular structure, wide open spaces internally, and a square apsidal chapel attached to the east side. The sober interior of the church has great similarities with the chapels built by the Templars in the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

. It has a single nave with

groin-vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

ed ceiling. The square apse, contain typical Templar architectural motifs such as the cosmological three crosses encompassed by nine stars, is introduced by a large triumphal arch.

Frescoes

The oldest frescoes are dated to the 1260s. At the top of the wall is a large cross with two smaller crosses surrounded by nine stars. The nine stars are thought to represent the founders of the Templar order. Frescoes on either side of the bifore window include the

Madonna and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

enthroned with angels, three Apostles (including

Barnabas Barnabas (; arc, ܒܪܢܒܐ; grc, Βαρνάβας), born Joseph () or Joses (), was according to tradition an early Christian, one of the prominent Christian disciples in Jerusalem. According to Acts 4:36, Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew. Name ...

, who was counted as 13th apostle by the Templars) and the symbols of the evangelists, a scene of the Crucifixion with the Virgin and St. John the Evangelist, and scenes of the life of St. Bevignate. Frescoes on the left wall depict the last Supper. Frescoes on the right wall of the apse depict the Last Judgement, above a procession of flagellants. These frescoes are interrupted by later ones showing St Bevignate and a kneeling donor. Frescoes on the arch of the apse are mostly non-figurative; two narrative scenes are too damaged for interpretation. The counter-facade, opposite the altar wall, are somewhat younger, dated to the end of the 13th century. They depict scenes associated with the Templars, including a boat carrying pilgrims to the Holy Land, and the scene of a battle between Templars and Saracens, thought to represent the

Sack of Nablus (1242) Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populatio ...

. Above the battle scene is a large lion climbing a palm tree and holding out a paw to a group of three monks. Along the walls of the nave are a series of figures holding the Templar cross, including St Peter, and St Paul. Additional frescoes on the left wall depict St Barbara, and a male and a female mendicant saint.

History

From 1260 the

movement, which regarded Bevignate as their patron saint, would use San Bevignate as their parish church. Along the south wall is a fresco of flagellants, one of whom is believed to depict Raniero Fasani (d. 1281), their leader. St. Bevignate was a local hermit, whose historical existence has not been established with certainty. His veneration in the region of Perugia can be established for the mid 13th century. His cult is closely related to the penitential processions, which he is claimed to have introduced to Perugia in the ''Lezenda'' by Raniero Fasani. The church was expanded, with monastic buildings, by the

Templars , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

as a substitute for their former church of San Giustino d'Arna, from which they had been ousted around 1283, after a dispute with the Benedictines. In 1312, after the suppression of the Templar Order, it was acquired by the

Hospitalliers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

. In 1324 Ricco di Corbolo, a rich Perugine merchant, acquired the whole complex and established a nunnery. During the latter part of the 14th century the nunnery, which had encountered scandals and a drop in members, was dissolved by Pope Julius II and given back to the Hospitallers. St. Bevignate was never canonized by the Holy See, but his local cult peaked with a so-called "secular canonization", performed by local political authorities reacting to urgent popular demand, in 1453. His feast day is on 14 May. The church was secularized in 1860.

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Church

Frescoes

History

References

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See also