SAN PIETRO VINCIOLI

The fresco on the second column to the left is a particular object of devotion. It represents the Perugia monk, Pietro Vincioli, the first abbot of San Pietro, who undertook the renovation of the sacred building, making it compatible with monastic life in the second half of the year 900, and placed it definitively beyond the power of the bishop. The saint is wearing the typical black Benedictine habit; he holds a book in his left hand, perhaps The Holy Rule. His face is framed by a golden halo, bright against a dark blue ground. This work is attributed to a follower of Benedetto Bonfigli, a Perugian artist influenced by the painting of Beato Angelico and Benozzo Gozzoli. He was also in contact with Filippo Lippi, who nominated him to do the frescoes in the Chapel of the Palazzo dei Priori (1455-1461). The capital of the Ionic column, with a Greek cross, is an important fragment, which can be dated to the late Justinian era: a similar example can be seen in the three-light mullioned window at the entrance of the Church of Sant’Angelo in Perugia.