San Domenico is a Romanesque style church located on via Mazzini in the center of the town of

Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...

in the

province of Terni The Province of Terni ( it, Provincia di Terni) is the smaller of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising one-third of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Terni. The province came into being ...

, region of Umbria, Italy.

History

The church was erected putatively at the site of a pagan temple dedicated to Minerva. This church was once the town's cathedral and dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. It was rededicated to St Dominic and assigned to monks of the

Dominican order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

in 1304. The church has undergone a number of refurbishments. The stone facade has an eclectic collection of Romanesque sculpture with both plants, animals, and framed busts of the apostles. The windows vary in size. The interior has three naves, divided by broad pillars. On the walls of the nave are frescoes dating from the 13th to the late 16th century. The second pillar has a fresco depicting the ''Crucifixion'' attributed to the Master of the Dormition. On the left-hand nave, a fresco depicts the ''Virgin and child with Saints Dominic and Thomas'' attributed to followers of

Pier Matteo d'Amelia Piermatteo de' Manfredi da Amelia (circa 1445 - died 1503/1508) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period. Biography Piermatteo was born in Amelia, in Umbria. He is first recorded as being part of the circle of Filippo Lippi, active bet ...

. A marble tabernacle once in the church attributed to followers of

Agostino di Duccio Agostino di Duccio (1418 – ) was an early Renaissance Italians, Italian sculptor. Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from ...

, has been moved to the Pinacoteca Civica. The Chapel of the Rosary was frescoed by late 15th century by Flemish artists with stories from Genesis. The crypt likely dates to before the 12th century.Umbria Tourism site

References

12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Churches in Narni Roman Catholic churches in Umbria Romanesque architecture in Umbria {{Italy-RC-church-stub