App Fia

Saint Scholastica of Norcia followed the example of her brother Benedict and began the female movement Benedictine between the 5th and 6th Centuries. This is why she is depicted with a traditional dark tunic, the detail of which, unfortunately, has almost completely been lost. This work was severely damaged when it was stolen in 1916. It later reappeared in the hands of an antique dealer, in very poor condition. The panel was painted by Pietro Perugino for the great polyptych he executed between 1495 and 1500.

Santa Giustina was painted by Pietro Perugino on one of the panels of the predella of the famous polyptych of San Pietro, which was commissioned in 1495 and completed in 1500. The polyptych, taken apart in 1591 as a result of renovation work at the basilica, was requisitioned by the French at the end of the 17th century, and many of its pieces were distributed among the departmental museums. Santa Giustina was taken to Paris, later brought back to Rome by Canova, and acquired by the Vatican Picture Gallery.

This small canvas of Santa Francesca e l’angelo is among the most precious and intriguing works of the entire art collection in the Benedictine monastery of San Pietro. It had for a long time been attributed to Caravaggio, but Roberto Longhi corrected this to Giovanni Antonio Galli, called lo Spadarino, he himself being a refined interpreter of the artistic language of Merisi. Spadarino is also represented in Umbria by another work, a Cena in Emmaus in the Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Arrone.

The painting of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, shown with the martyr’s palm and the spiked wheel she was tortured with, completes the series of paintings of holy martyrs executed by Giovan Battista Salvi, called il Sassoferrato, for the monastery of San Pietro. As well as this painting, those of Santa Giustina and Santa Apollonia, both in San Pietro, Sant’Agnese and Santa Barbara in the “Tesori d’Arte” gallery of the Fondazione per l’Istruzione Agraria are also part of the series.

Pregiati prodotti dell’artigianato toscano del Rinascimento, gli armadi della sagrestia di San Pietro vennero realizzati, come ricordano i documenti, nel 1472 da Giusto di Francesco d’Incisa e Giovanni di Filippo da Fiesole. Gli armadi sono distribuiti sulle due pareti lunghe dell’ambiente rettangolare della sagrestia e sono costituiti da un doppio registro di specchiature in legno ornate al loro interno con decorazioni a intarsio, una tecnica che prevede l’accostamento di tasselli di legname di qualità e colore differenti.

The canvasses Saint Placidus and Saint Mauroboth originate from the apartment of the abbot of San Pietro. A document dated February 1649 states that 20 paintings were acquired for the Abbot’s apartment in the same year. It is reasonable to assume that the painting in question was among these. It shows a panel from the predella of the polyptych painted by Perugino (1495-1500). The model provided by Perugino is interpreted in an original manner, in terms of the color, which appears in almost cold tones, and the smoother and more rounded forms in the painting.

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 panel portrays the Perugia born San Pietro Vincioli. The first abbot of San Pietro, it was he who promoted the reconstruction of the basilica and its adaptation as a monastery. The Saint is caught while indicating an open book, in which an inscription tells of his importance in the history of the construction of the abbey: “sanctus Petrus p[er]usin[us] / hiu[us] mon[asterii] abbas pri / mu[s] et re[a[re]-/tor . m[u]ltis/que claruit / mi[r]acul[is] / fuit au[c]t[or] / t[em]p[o]r[e] Octo/nisi m/p[er]ato[r]is / secu[n]fi”.

Documents in the archives confirm that Orazio Alfani was paid between 1547 and 1548 “for the paintings in the choir” depicting The Lives of Sts. Peter and Paul. Alfani was probably helped by Leonardo “dal Borgo”, Leonardo Cungi from Sansepolcro, who is named in a payment dated 1556. The monastic choir of the basilica, originally in the center of the church, was disassembled towards the end of the 16th century during the reconstruction work carried out under Valentino Martelli. This is also when Alfani’s frescoes were moved to the opposing façade.

Cesare Sermei learned his craft between the cities of Orvieto and Rome, in the studio of Cesare Nebbia, studying examples of late Roman and Tuscan mannerism at length. He settled in Assisi during the first decade of the 17th century, after spending time in Pavia. He began a long career, during which he was active in the building of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the lower basilica of San Francesco, and in many towns in Umbria. He was favorable to the new stylistic reformation of painting, and he himself painted with a clear and balanced style. The canvas of The Miracle of St.