SAINT HERCULANUS

Saint Herculanus, a particularly beloved saint in Perugia, is also important in the history of the buildings that make up San Pietro. According to Gregory the Great, Herculanus, the defensor civitatis martyred by Totila during the siege of Perugia (549 AD), was first buried in San Pietro. His portrait, justly included in the predella of the great work of Pietro Perugino, is close to that of Saint Constantius, the other patron saint of the city. Both panels escaped the dismemberment of the polyptych, which began at the end of the 17th century, unlike the majority of the panels painted by this great artist between 1485 and 1500.