History
The abbey of San Pietro was built around the year 996 over the previous cathedral church, as the first bishopric of Perugia. Its origin is probably older, dating back to the 4th century (after the Edict of Milan). It rises up on a sacred Etruscan-Roman area, even though the first documents mentioning the church are from 1002. The founder was the abbot Pietro Vincioli, a nobleman from Perugia, later canonised. In the following centuries the abbey increased its power greatly, until in 1398 it was taken and set on fire by the citizens of Perugia, who blamed the abbot Francesco Guidalotti for having taken part in the conspiracy against the leader of the popular party of Perugia of the Raspanti Biordo Michelotti. The monastery had a new period of expansion under Pope Eugenio IV, who joined it to the Congregation of St. Justine of Padua (later known as Cassinese), thus maintaining a position of prestige and power in the city. In 1591 began a thirty-year period of work directed by Valentino Martelli who changed the complex to the present aspect we see today. The abbey was temporarily suppressed by the Jacobins in 1799. According to historical tradition, on 20 June 1859 the monks gave shelter to some patriots who, raising against the papal authority at the incitement of the main exponents of the local Freemasonry, clashed with the regiment of Swiss soldiers of the Papal States (the 1859 Perugia uprising). Consequently, after the intervention of the Piedmontese army and the long-awaited Unification of Italy, the new government allowed the Benedictines to remain in the abbey, granting an extension to the Pepoli decree which sanctioned the state ownership of the ecclesiastical property, until the religious persons present at the events of the 20th June 1859 were reduced to three. When, in 1890, the third last monk died, Law no. 4799 of 10 July 1887 was implemented, which established that the property of the suppressed abbey of San Pietro was to be used for the creation of an "Institute of Agricultural Education" to be founded in Perugia, currently the Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences of the University of Perugia.Description
Exterior
The monastery is preceded by the 14th century gate of Porta di San Pietro designed byInternal
The interior preserves the original architectural structure of the basilica, which was followed, between the 15th and 17th centuries, by numerous decorative interventions that blended harmoniously with the structure. In spite of the Napoleonic spoliations that followed one another in 1797 and 1813, it remains the richest church in the city and houses the largest art collection in Perugia, after the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria. The nave is articulated by arcades on 18 grey marble columns datable between the end of the III and the beginning of the 4th century AD with unique spolia capitals, probably coming from Roman times.Central nave and counter-façade
The upper part is decorated with majestic canvas depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, commissioned by Abbot Giacomo da San Felice da Salò and completed in 1591-1611. They were made in Venice by the Geek painter Antonio Vassillachi, known as l'Aliense, a pupil of Paolo Veronese and Tintoretto. Also by Vassillachi is the monumental canvas on the west wall ('Apotheosis of the Benedictine Order'). The remaining fresco decorations are by Giovanni Bisconti, Orazio Martini and Benedetto Bandiera. The central nave has a richly decorated woodenRight aisle, St. Joseph and angels chapels
At the beginning of the right aisle the first piece depicts ('The Madonna on the throne and Saints') by Eusebio da San Giorgio (16th century), followed by '' ''('The Assumption of the Virgin') by Orazio Alfani (16th century), by Francesco Appiani (1751), ('The Miracle of the Column') by Giacinto Cimignani da Pistoia (1677), ('The Miracle of St. Mauro') by Cesare Sermei (1648), '' ''('Davide chooses among the three Chastisements') by Ventura Salimbeni (1602), ('St. Benedict Delivering the Rule to the Monks') by Eusebio da S. Giorgio, with the ('Martyrdom of St. Christina') at its base, '' ''('St. Gregory the Great in procession with the people during the plague') by Ventura Salimbeni (1602), '' ''('Samson') by François Perrier (17th century) and on the left the Pietà of Sebastiano del Piombo school. Above the door that leads to St. Joseph Chapel there are three small paintings: ('Virgin Mary with Infant Christ and St. Elizabeth and Infant Saint John the Baptist') by Bonifazio Pilati da Verona (XVI) and S. Mauro and S. Placido, which are copies from Perugino by Giovanni Battista Salvi called Sassoferrato (XVII). Along the wall the St. Joseph Chapel was decorated with frescoes in 1857 by the sixteen-year-old Domenico Bruschi from Perugia: in the vault are the four cardinal virtues, in which he used the Purismo style like Perugino, learned by his master Silvestro Valeri. On the right the canvas ('The Virgin Mary with St. Elizabeth and John the Baptist as an Infant') by an artist from the Tuscan School (16th century).Umbria, in L'Italia, Touring Club Italiano, 2004, pp. 168-172. In the nave following the ('Resurrection of Christ') by Orazio Alfani and, above the door of the sacristy, three small paintings by Sassoferrato: Santa Flavia, Santa Apollonia and Santa Caterina. At the end of the nave ('the Chapel of Relics or of the Angels') with a wrought iron gate, 16th century stuccoes and frescoes by Benedetto Bandiera (1599). On the sides of the entrance to the presbytery are two paintings by Gian Domenico Cerrini (17th century): ('the Virgin nursing the Infant Jesus and St. John the Baptist').Presbytery
The altar contains the relics of the abbot Pietro Vincioli, the founder of the church. It is adorned with polychrome marble by the architect Valentino Martelli (1592). The ciborium by Sante Ghetti from Carrara (1627) is a miniature temple, also made of rare polychrome marbles. The main feature of the presbytery is theLeft aisle, Vibi, Ranieri and Sacramento chapels
At the bottom of the left aisle the Pietà with ''St. Geronimo and St. Leonardo'' (15th century), attributed to Benedetto Bonfigli or Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, on the right wall ('St. Peter weeping for having denied Jesus') attributed to Guercino (XVI), on the left side a canvas attributed to Giovanni Lanfranco (XVII) depicting ('Christ in the Garden comforted by the Angel')''.'' In the Vibi Chapel is located the marble reredos with Infant Jesus, the Baptist and St. Jerome (1453), attributed to Mino da Fiesole. In the lunette there once was the Annunciation by Giovanni Battista Caporali, on the left wall the Visitation of Polydorus by Stefano Ciburri (1530). On the right the Madonna del Giglio by Sassoferrato, made from the one by Lo Spagna. Leaving the nave in front of the Vibi chapel a St. Paul attributed to Guercino, in the left aisle the Deposition by Gian Battista Salvi called Sassoferrato (XVII), copy of the famous Deposition by Raffaello, today at the ''Galleria Borghese'' in Rome. Next is the Ranieri Chapel, originally Baglioni, that was designed by Francesco di Guido di Virio da Settignano. The vault displays an Assumption of the Virgin by Annibale Brugnoli (19th century), which is inspired by Titian's prototype, but has more delicate colours, painted over a previous decoration by Caporali; on the left wall is a canvas with Jesus in the garden attributed to Guido Reni (17th century) and on the right Jesus and Saint Veronica by G. Francesco Gessi (17th century). Back in the nave, the ('Judith with the head of Holofernes') by Sassoferrato (17th century). Next is the Sacrament Chapel. Its vault is decorated by Francesco Appiani with perspective quadraturas by Pietro Carattoli. On the altar an image of the Madonna del Giglio from the 14th century attributed to Lo Spagna, which comes from a rural chapel and placed in the centre of a painting of St. Peter and St. Paul by Jean-Baptiste Wicar (19th century). On the walls large canvases by Giorgio Vasari (1566): ('Marriage at Cana'), ('the Prophet Elisha') and ('the miracle of the table of St. Benedict'). The canvas ('St. Benedict sends St. Maurus to France') on the left is by Giovanni Fiammingo (XVI). Returning to the nave the Adoration of the Magi by Eusebio da San Giorgio (16th century), the Assumption by Orazio Alfani (16th century), the Annunciation of Sassoferrato and the polychrome wooden Crucifix attributed to Giovanni Tedesco. Following the Pietà, a late work by Perugino, where the painter portrays himself in the face of Giuseppe di Arimatea. The piece, coming from the church of Sant'Agostino, was part of the Sant'Agostino Altarpiece; and S. Pietro Abate dell'Appiani (18th century). At the end of the nave are the Fatti S. Mauro and S. Placiduo by Giacinto Gimignani (1677).Sacristy
The sacristy, built in 1451, has a large works collection; the upper floor, where the wardrobes are, has carvings in leather and the floor was made of Deruta majolica by Giacomo Mancini in the 16th century. In the vault are frescoes of the Stories of the Old Testament by Silla Piccinini, or Pecennini, (16th century), while on the walls are Stories of St. Peter and Paul by Girolamo Danti (1574). On the right is a canvas of the Holy Family attributed to Parmigianino, and in the corner is a small painting of Infant Jesus and Infant Saint John the Baptist attributed to the young Raphael. Christ at the Column (XVII), Madonna with Child (XVI), and Christ Blessing (XVII) are by unknown artists. Within the windows is a Visitation by Sebastiano Conca (XVIII). The most important paintings are the five small paintings by Perugino with images of Santa Scholastica, S. Ercolano, S. Constantino, S. Pietro Abbate, S. Mauro and S. Placido. They were painted for the predella of the large altarpiece Ascension (1496), which adorned the main church altar. The canvas was confiscated in 1796 by the Napoleonic commissioner Giacomo Tinet (today it is exposed at the Museum of Lyon). Above these paintings Frances of Rome educated by an Angel of an unknown Caravagesque.Medieval crypt
The left aisle leads to the apse where there is an early medieval crypt discovered in 1979, with a circular plan with a suggesting ambulatory and plastered walls painted with geometric and figurative motifs.The abbey with the three cloisters
The abbey has three cloisters: the first, at the entrance, dates back to the 17th century by Valentino Martelli; the second is the Main Cloister, a Renaissance construction of the thirties of the 16th century, attributed to Guido da Settignano, set on three floors with a well in the centre by Galeotto di Paolo di Assisi. As in other monasteries, around it there were large halls where communal life took place: the chapter, the refectory, the schoolrooms, the library, the archive and the scriptorium. Under the portico, on the side facing the entrance, there is the ancient access to the Chapter House, which has now become the main hall of the Library of the Faculty of Agriculture "Mario Marte". At the entrance of the former refectory, nowadays the Aula Magna, is a 15th-century glazed terracotta laver depicting the ('Samaritan woman at the well'), attributed to Benedetto Buglione. The upper floor was reserved for the dormitory or the cells of the monks. The third cloister, the ('cloister of the stars'), 1571, was designed by Galeazzo Alessi. It is so called because it has star-shaped openings on the ground from where rainwater entered to be carried into a cistern.Medieval garden
From the cloisters one can access the Medieval Garden laid out in 1996. It presents an interesting symbolic revival of the , the garden of the monastery that provided the essential sustenance for self-sufficiency; at the same time it is also an ideal garden, which unfolds a symbolic path of the evolution of men. There are the remains of an ancient fish farm and various springs, which prove the uninterrupted presence of the water element. In the garden the medieval gate on the important road to Rome; nearby lays a stone with a carved shell indicating the distance between Rome and St. Jacopo di Compostela, because the Jacobean itinerary also passed through here. To the right one can glimpse the , which expand the greenery of the . In the past they were the favourite square of Braccio da Montone for his military exercises; nowadays there is a garden by the Perugine Arcadi, a garden with a small 18th-century theatre and statues from the 20th century.gallery
The abbey houses the gallery of the with works from San Pietro abbey as well as from the proprieties of Casalina and Sant'Apollinare. On display is a vast collection of works which span the end of the 15th to the 19th century, including the detached fresco by Giannicola di Paolo, previously located above the portal of the Basilica. The gallery also houses a vast collection of illuminated choir books from the 15th and 16th centuries.Migrated works
During the French occupation, the church was subjected to several Napoleonic spoliations. According to the Catalogo by Canova, several works were stored there and sent to France and never returned after the Congress of Vienna. The most important are:''Nicole Gotteri, Enlèvements et restitutions des tableaux de la galerie des rois de Sardaigne (1798-1816), p. 459-481, dans Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes, 1995, tome 153, no 2.'' * ''Ascension,'' Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato, in Paris in January 1814 and in the Musée Napoléon/Louvre from 1814 * ''God in Glory'', lunette 280x216 cm, Lione, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''San Pietro Polyptych'', cymatium, 114x230 cm, Lione, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''Tondo of Jeremy'', 127 cm in diameter), Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''Tondo of Isaiah'', 127 cm in diameter), Nantes, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''Adoration of the Magi'', predella panel 32x59 cm, Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''Baptism of Christ'', predella panel 32x59 cm, Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts * ''Resurrection,'' predella panel 32x59 cm, Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts Once there were two works in the sacristy: (Jesus carrying the Cross) of Mantegna and the Coronation of Bassano. Both were smuggled in the theft of 29 March 1916.See also
*References
* ''Umbria, in L'Italia, Touring Club Italiano, 2004, pp. 168-172.'' * Mario Montanari, ''Mille anni della chiesa di S. Pietro in Perugia e del suo patrimonio'', Foligno, Poligrafica Salvati, 1966; per l'attribuzione del campanile al Rossellino si cfr. p. 220 e segg. * ''Convegno storico per il Millennio dell’Abbazia di S. Pietro in Perugia'', «Bollettino della Deputazione di storia patria per l’Umbria», 64 (1967). * Giustino Farnedi, ''L'Abbazia di San Pietro e gli studi storici'', Cesena, Centro Storico Benedettino Italiano, 2011 (Italia Benedettina, 35). * AA.VV. Guide Electa Umbria - Perugia 1993 * M. R. Zappelli - Perugia Borgo S. Pietro - Todi 2008 * F. Mancini e G. Casagrande - Perugia Guida storico-artistica - S. Lazzaro di Savena Bologna 1982 {{coord, 43.101, N, 12.396, E, display=title, source:dewiki 996 establishments Christian monasteries established in the 10th century