The Sanctuary of the Madonna di Belvedere is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

-style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church built atop a mountain a few miles outside of the town of

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. T ...

, province of Perugia, in the region of Umbria, Italy.

History and Decoration

A chapel or oratory was present at this site since the 13th-century, sheltering a venerated icon, then called the ''Santa Maria di Caprano'', for being present atop what was then Monte Caprano. From 1669 to 1684, the present temple was erected using a design by

Antonio Gabrielli Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

and

Nicola Barbioni Nicola Barbioni (1637 - 29 August 1688) was an Italian architect, active in a Baroque-style mainly in his native Città di Castello in Umbria. Nicola trained under Gabrielli Antonio, architect and scenographer, and with him completed the church of ...

. In 1705, the icon was crowned in a ceremony in the cathedral, and after a week, led in procession back to the church. The structure has an odd eclectic appearance, with a convex round facade with semicircular portico of seven rounded arches. Above the roofline is a triangular tympanum, followed by a cylindrical brick dome. This is flanked by two cylindrical turret like bell-towers. Just inside the entrance to the church is a bussulo or compass made in 1883. The interior is octagonal. In the chapel to the right is an altarpiece depicting the ''Martyrdom of St Vincent'' (1699) by

Giovanni Ventura Borghesi Giovanni Ventura Borghesi (October 29, 1640 – April 13, 1708) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Rome. Biography Born in Città di Castello, he was initially a pupil of the painter Giovanni Battista Pacetti (called ...

. The main altar has rich marble decoration and holds the venerated icon. It is surrounded by a profusion of animated statues of various saints including Donninus, Floridius, Amantius, and Venturam. From the front, one has a scenic view of the valley across to other Apennine peaks.Umbria Tourism
website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanctuary of the Madonna di Belvedere, Citta di Castello Churches in Città di Castello Baroque architecture in Umbria Octagonal churches in Italy Shrines to the Virgin Mary