- San Pietro, Perugia
San Pietro is the name of a church and an abbey in the city of
Perugia (Umbria ), central Italy.History
The monastery was created around 996 over the former cathedral church, the early seat of Perugia's bishops, existing since the early seventh century, although the first document citing the abbot is from 1002. Its early patron was Pietro Vincioli, a Perugian noble, later canonized.
In the following centuries the abbey increased greatly its power, until in 1398 it was burnt by the Perugini, as the abbot Francesco Guidalotti had taken part in the plot against Biordo Michelotti, chief of the popular party. The monastery reflourished with
Pope Eugene IV , who united it to the Congregation of St. Justine of Padua, maintaining a position of prestige and power in the city.The abbey was temporarily suppressed by the French in
1799 . The monks had aided the Perugine revolt of1859 against the Papal government, and, after theUnification of Italy , the new government allowed them to remain in the Abbey.Buildings
The monastery is preceded by a 15th century gate designed by
Agostino di Duccio that leads to a monumental facade with three arcades, designed around 1614 by the Perugine architect Valentino Martelli: the first cloister is also by Martelli, with the second floor completed by Lorenzo Petrozzi.The entrance of the church is on the left side of the cloister. Remains of the facade of the ancient basilica can be seen on the left and the right of the fifteenth-century portal, with a portico including some frescoes from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The polygonal belltower, on the right of the portal, was rebuilt in 1463-68 with Florentine-Gothic lines, based on a design by
Bernardo Rossellino ).The interior has a basilica plan, with a nave and two aisles. It has the most important collection of art in Perugia, after the
Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria . The nave is articulated by arcades on antique grey marble columns, probably coming from Roman constructions. The upper part is decorated with 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 executed in Venice byAntonio Vassilacchi , a pupil ofPaolo Veronese andTintoretto . Also by Vassilacchi is the great canvas on the west wall, with the "Triumph of the Benedictine orders". The central nave has a richly inlaid and coloredcoffered ceiling of wood byBenedetto di Giovanni da Montepulciano (1556)Other works of art include works by
Ventura Salimbeni ,Eusebio da San Giorgio ,Orazio Alfani , copies afterPerugino ,Girolamo Danti (sacristy, 1574),Giovanni Lanfranco ,Mino da Fiesole (a marble with "Young Jesus, St. John the Baptist and St. Hyeronimus", in the Vibi Chapel), a "Jesus in the Orchard" attributed toGuido Reni ,, two grand canvas byGiorgio Vasari , and a "Pietà" ofSebastiano dal Piombo 's school. By Perugino himself is a series of "Saints" in the sacristy, once part of the "Ascension" altarpiece (1496), which once decorated the main altar of the church (now in the Museum at Lyon).The main feature of the presbytery (rebuilt by Martelli and decorated with works of art mainly of the late sixteenth century) is the
intarsia of the wood-panelled choir, considered one of the most beautiful in Italy. It was begun byBernardino di Luca Antonini in 1525-26, and completed byStefano di Antoniolo Zambelli , from Bergamo, in 1535. Particularly noteworthy is the central door, with a relief portraying the "Annunciation" and "Moses Saved from the Water" by fraDamiano da Bergamo (1536).The Abbey has two more cloisters: one, called "Chiostro Maggiore", is a
Renaissance construction attributed to Guido da Settignano, another, also known as " Chiostro delle Stelle", is from 1571.In front of the Abbey is the "Giardino del Frontone", a former parade square of
Braccio da Montone rebuilt into a garden with a tiny amphitheatre by the Alessi family in the eighteenth century.ee also
*
Perugia References
*Francesco Federico Mancini, Giovanna Casagrande, "Perugia. Guida storica-artistica", Italcards, Perugia.
*Touring Club Italiano, "Guida d'Italia: Umbria" 1966, pp 109-10.
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