Sant' Agnese
(14th century, rebuilt in the 17th century)
A community of Poor Clares that was established here in 1329 moved to San Paolo del Favarone (see detour II, Walk VI) in 1429. The nunnery then passed to a community of Franciscan tertiaries. This community had been formed in 1383, when Madaluccia di Nucolo was granted the use of a ruined chapel near San Francesco al Prato that was known as Santa Maria di Valfabbrica. When Madaluccia died in 1408, she left all of her goods to this (by then well-established) community. From 1429, the two communities belonged to a single congregation.
The tertiary community was later concentrated at Sant’ Agnese, and the site of Santa Maria di Valfabbrica was used for the cemetery of the Convento di San Francesco al Prato. It is likely that the nuns of Sant' Agnese remained associated with the Conventual Franciscans of San Francesco al Prato. They nevertheless looked for spiritual guidance to the Observant Franciscans from the Convento di Monteripido. In 1483, the friars from Monteripido tried to impose clausura on them, but they seem to have been unsuccessful. Like the sisters of the nearby nunnery of Sant' Antonio da Padova, they seem to have
looked instead for spiritual guidance to the newly-arrived Amadeiti
Fathers at San Girolamo from this point. Pressure on the sisters to accept clausura probably intensified from 1568, when Pope Pius V
merged the Amadeiti Fathers with the main branch of the Franciscans. He imposed enclosure on the community at Sant' Agnese in ca. 1570.
The nuns took refuge with those of Santa Maria di Monteluce during the French occupation in 1810, returning to Sant' Agnese in 1816. They managed to escape suppression in 1860, although they suffered the confiscation of some of their possessions. They reverted to the rule of the Poor Clares in 1911, and in 1927 much of their confiscated property was returned. In 1944 they temporarily abandoned the clausura of their nunnery so that the local people could use its well when bombing disrupted the usual water supply.
Cappella della Consolazione
The entrance to the chapel that houses Perugino’s Madonna delle Grazie (see below) is under the loggia in the entrance courtyard. (Ring the bell during the hours announced on a notice nearby.)
This chapel, which was originally part of the cloister of the nunnery, was enclosed at some time after the Madonna delle Grazie had been painted there.
Madonna delle Grazie (1522)
The nuns
of Sant' Agnese particularly venerated this image, which they believed protected their
community. It is in the form of a frescoed triptych, with the orant Virgin and SS Antony Abbot and Antony of Padua. Its recent restoration has confirmed its attribution to the aged Perugino.
This restoration also
recovered the original inscription, which gave both the date and the names of the donors: Eufrasia degli Arcipreti and Teodora di Pier Matteo (presumably the nuns who kneel on either side of the Virgin); and
established that it remains on the wall on which it was originally painted (contradicting earlier theories that it had been detached from its original location and moved here). The wall in question seems to have been open to the elements in the nuns' cloister until the construction of the chapel.
Church (1602)
The arch to the right in the courtyard leads to the nuns’ church, which was rebuilt in 1602 and re-consecrated by Bishop Napoleone Comitoli.
Crucifixion with SS Sebastian and Roch (1519)
This fresco by Eusebio di San Giorgio surrounding a statue of the Crucifixion is in a niche in the nuns' choir. The Virgin and St John the Evangelist flank the cross as angels capture the blood of Christ.
The plague saints SS Sebastian and Roch are depicted on he sides of the niche, with God the Father above.
Works Removed from the Church
Marzolini Triptych (ca. 1275)
The triptych, which is the
autograph work of the Maestro del Trittico Marzolini (or Maestro del
Trittico di Perugia), probably came from the Templars’ church of San Bevignate. The Templars were accused of heresy in 1307, and the Franciscans of San Francesco al Prato
were appointed to act as Inquisitors at San Bevignate. Their goods
were confiscated at this point and the triptych later found its way to
Sant' Agnese. The nuns probably commissioned the later paintings of SS Francis and Clare on the outer sides of the covers. In
1907, when the triptych was exhibited in Perugia, it was recorded as
the property of Monsignor N. Marzolini. It is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 1).
Tritico di Sant’ Agnese (ca. 1435)
This triptych, which is attributed to Bicci di Lorenzo, was probably commissioned shortly after 1429, when Sant' Agnese passed to a community of Franciscan tertiaries. It was transferred to the Academia di Belle Arte in 1810 and is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 7).
Sant' Agnese Altarpiece (1517)
This altarpiece, which is dated by inscription, is attributed to Berto di Giovanni. It was first recorded in 1801, when the nuns of Sant' Agnese gave its main panel to those of Santa Maria di Monteluce in return for the hospitality given to them after their suppression in 1798.
This main panel, which depicts the Coronation of the Virgin with saints, was then installed it on the high altar of Santa Maria di Monteluce, where it replaced the panel on the same subject that had been confiscated in 1797. It was listed among works to be sent to the Musei Capitolini, Rome in 1812, but it was subsequently decided that it should remain in the church. It was moved to the Galleria Nazionale (Room 28) in 1863.
The smaller panels from the altarpiece initially remained in Sant’
Agnese, although some were moved to the Accademia di Belle Arti in
1810. Nine of them were reunited with the main panel after they had
entered the gallery in 1863.
Return to Walk V.