Santa Maria del Popolo (ca. 1547)

This was the site of the parish church of Santa Maria del Mercato (13th century).  It was also known as Santa Maria de Foro, in reference to the Roman forum, which seems to have extended thus far.  It was used by a number of the city guilds and was the place in which their new representatives to the governing Priori took their oaths of office.

When the building of Via Nuova necessitated the demolition of this important church, Cardinal Tiberio Crispo commissioned Galeazzo Alessi to build the present church as a replacement.  It housed the Compagnia dei Sarti (tailors’ guild) and the Compagnia dei Muratori (masons’ guild) in the 17th century.  The parish was merged with that of Santa Maria della Misercordia in 1760 and the church was deconsecrated in 1866.  [It now serves as the “Borsa Merci”.]

Alessi’s portico survives, albeit much altered and overshadowed by the upper stories of the adjacent Palazzo Danzetta (see Walk I), which were built above it in the 18th century.

Santa Maria del Popolo Altarpiece (1549)

Cardinal Tiberio Crispo commissioned this enormous altarpiece for the high altar from Lattanzio Pagani.  According to Giorgio Vasari, Cristoforo Gherardi (called il Doceno) took over the commission and painted the upper part of the altarpiece.  The altarpiece entered the Galleria Nazionale (Sala Podiani) in 1866, when Santa Maria del Popolo was deconsecrated. 

In the upper part of the altarpiece, the Madonna is surrounded by angels and seated on a cloud.  She holds the standing baby Jesus and is flanked by SS Herculanus and Laurence.  Below, the citizens of Perugia are assembled in front of Santa Maria del Popolo, which has been moved from its urban setting into a landscape.

Return to Walk I.