San Bevignate is a church in Perugia, Umbria, central Italy. San Bevignate, to whom it is entitled, was a rather mysterious local hermit who had a notable following among Perugia's people but was in fact never officially canonized.
Church
editThe church was built between 1256-1262[1] and measures 39.5 meters by 17 meters and stands 27 meters tall.[2] Located on the south side were a large elaboration of monastic buildings which would have been surrounded by a wall.[2] San Bevignate follows typical Templar architecture, being a large rectangular structure, wide open spaces internally, and a square apsidal chapel attached to the east side.[2]
The sober interior of the church has great similarities with the chapels built by the Templars in the Holy Land. It has a single nave with groin-vaulted ceiling. The square apse, contain typical Templar architectural motifs such as the cosmological three crosses and nine stars,[3] is introduced by a large triumphal arch.
Works of art include the Procession of Flagellants, located along the south wall;[4] a Battle Between Templars and Muslims, the Legend of San Bevignate and other 13th-century frescoes.
History
editThe church was commissioned by the Templars in substitution of their former church of San Giustino d'Arna, from which they had been ousted in 1277, after a dispute with the Benedictines.[2]
In 1312, after the suppression of the Templar Order, it was acquired by the Hospitalliers. In 1324 Ricco di Corbolo, a rich Perugine merchant, acquired the whole complex and housed there a nunnery.[5] During the latter part of the 14th century the nunnery, which had encountered scandals and a drop in members, was dissolved by Pope Julius II and given back to the Hospitallers.[5]
In 1860 the church was secularized.
References
edit- ^ Barber 1994, p. 200.
- ^ a b c d Barber 1994, p. 203.
- ^ Barber 1994, p. 10.
- ^ Barber 1994, p. 202.
- ^ a b Luttrell & Nicholson 2006, p. 21.
Sources
edit- Barber, Malcolm (1994). The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge University Press.
- Luttrell, Anthony; Nicholson, Helen J., eds. (2006). Hospitaller Women in the Middle Ages. Ashgate.