San Fortunato is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

- and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on Piazza Umberto I #6 in the historic center of

Todi Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction. I ...

, province of Perugia, region of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, Italy.

History

The church was built likely at the site of an ancient Roman hill-top temple. It later hosted a shrine to the early Christian martyr San Cassiano; however, the possession of the relics of Saint

Fortunatus of Todi Saint Fortunatus (died 537) was a 6th-century bishop of Todi. According to tradition, he defended Todi during a Gothic siege. He is the patron saint of Todi. He is praised by Gregory the Great, who calls him a man of great virtue who took great c ...

(6th century bishop) provided the church with a saint of more later origin. A

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery became attached to the church by the 1100s, and the church was expanded, creating altars dedicated to the Saints Fortunato, Cassiano, and John the Baptist, consecrated by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...

in 1198.

The church was acquired by the

Franciscan order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

by 1292, and led to the construction of the present church building. Only the lower portion of the facade was faced in polished stone; the rest remains in bare brick. The facade was designed in the first half of the 15th century by Giovanni di Santuccio of Firenzuola. Built from 1295 to 1460, the church has a Gothic-style central portal (1415–1458) with a pointed arch, with richly decorated spiraling pilasters, sculpted with leafy and animal details, and depictions of saints and apostles. The sculptures flanking the portal, ensconced into small stone baldachini (tents), depict the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin of the

Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...

, and are attributed to followers of

Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia (, ; 20 October 1438), also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo. ...

."Tempio San Fortunato", Regione Umbria
/ref> Above the wooden doors, the presently blank stone tympanum once held a mosaic. The church stands on a raised platform and the facade is preceded by a broad series of stone steps. Todi San Fortunato Interno P1200362

The interior has a nave divided from the aisles by

compound piers Compound pier or cluster pier is the architectural term given to a clustered column or pier which consists of a centre mass or newel, to which engaged or semi-detached shafts have been attached, in order to perform (or to suggest the performance of ...

. The vault displays gothic tracery, and the apse has tall lancet windows.Visitodi website
tourism website of the Region of Umbria. The

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, modelled on that of the Franciscans’ mother church in Assisi, was completed by 1460.Pensi and Comez, p. 28. The main altar rises before a semicircular apse, well lit by windows. Along the walls are carved wooden choir stalls. On the back wall, in the center, is an altarpiece depicting a ''Crucifixion with St John and the Virgin'' (1590) by Pietro Paolo Sensini. In front of this is a large marble statue of San Fortunato on a high pedestal putatively added in 1643 as a votive offering when the city was spared sacking during the first

War of Castro The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict w ...

. The altar was made in the 16th-century deriving the present columns from an older altar. The bishop Angelo Cesi excavated a crypt below the altar to house the relics formerly in the prior altar. The saints depicted between the arches were painted (1861) by Luigi Sabatini. Todi038

The third chapel on the right has a monument to the lawyer Vincenzo Caroccio (died 1623). The fifth chapel on the right has a tomb monument dedicated to

Paolo Rolli Paolo Antonio Rolli (13 June 1687 – 20 March 1765) was an Italian Libretto, librettist, poet and translator. Biography Paolo Rolli was born in Rome, Italy and like Metastasio was trained by Gian Vincenzo Gravina. The Richard Boyle, 3rd ...

(1687 – 1765), a writer and translator. The third chapel has a fresco fragment moved here from elsewhere in the church painted (1432) by the Florentine Masolino da Panicale. It depicts the Madonna and child between angels. In the 6th chapel to the right, dedicated to St Francis, the Astancolle family commissioned a series of frescoes (circa 1340) from a follower of

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

. At the end of the nave, the ''Cappella Gregoriana'' has an altarpiece depicting the ''Coronation of the Virgin'' (1618) by

Andrea Polinori Andrea Polinori (1586 – 1648) was an Italians, Italian painter active in a Baroque art, Baroque-style mainly in his native city of Todi in Umbria. Biography He was born in Todi. He spent a formative period circa 1615 in Rome. He is describe ...

. Some damaged frescoes depicting a Madonna (circa 1400) were painted by Niccolò di Vannuccio.Medioevo In Umbria website
entry on church. At the end of the left nave, the ''Cappella dell'Assunta'' (Chapel of the Assumption) has an altarpiece depicting the ''Miracle of the Assumption of Mary'' (1618) also by Polinori. Surrounding the painting is an altar rich in polychrome marbles. On the left nave, in a glass case is a silver reliquary once holding the arm of Fortunatus. Tradition holds that the original reliquary was stolen in 1328 during an Italian campaign by the emperor Louis of Bavaria. There is also a San Fortunato church in Covignano, province of Rimini.Diocese of Rimini

Gallery

File:San Fortunato in Todi 030.jpg, Reliquary of arm of San Fortunato File:Todi026.jpg, Assumption of the Virgin File:0947TodiSFortunato.JPG, Tomb of the Blessed Jacopone File:" Coro absidale ".JPG, Apse and main altar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunato Todi Churches in Todi Gothic architecture in Todi

History

Gallery

See also

References