Trevi Walk


This walk begins at the bus stop in Piazza Garibaldi, which is just outside the outer circuit of walls (1264).  The piazza was originally called Piazza del Lago because it was used to store water running off the mountain.  The lake augmented the town's physical defences by protecting this most vulnerable part of the walls.  This section of the walls was demolished in 1910, along with the Porta del Lago, which was at the entrance to Via Roma (on your right if Bar Chalet, the most obvious point of reference in the piazza, is behind you). 

Leave the piazza along Via Roma, towards the historic centre.  The first turning on the left leads to the Piazza del Teatro and the Teatro Clitunno.

Teatro Clitunno (1875-7)

The theatre, which was designed by Domenico Mollajoli, was inaugurated in 1877.   It was converted for use as a cinema in 1955 and subsequently declined.  However, it was subject to a major restoration in 1987-93.

The fire curtain has a painting (1877) by Domenico Bruschi that depicts the Emperor Caligula arriving by boat at the Fonti del Clitunno.


Return to via Roma, and the church of San Giovanni Decollato on the left.  Detour a short way along its right side to see the buildings that housed the adjacent hospice.

Continue under an arch of the loggia of Palazzo Comunale (see below) into Piazza Mazzini.   The fresco (1703) on the left of the loggia depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Emilianus, Vincent and Benignus.  It commemorates the return to Trevi from Lucca of the relics of SS Vincent and Benignus.  It was restored in 1988.

Piazzza Mazzini, which was originally called Piazza del Comune, was the centre of civic life from at least the early 13th century.  In 1225, it was described as "ante portam Trevii", but was contained within the larger circuit of walls that was built in 1264.  As you enter,  Palazzo Comunale is on your right and the adjacent Torre del Comune is on your left.

Palazzo Comunale (1522-6) & Torre del Comune (13th century)

A pubic palace on this site was first documented in 1273.  It was rebuilt in 1522-6 and re-modeled after the earthquake of 1703.  The windows on the upper storey were added at various times in the 16th century, and the balcony dates to 1635.  The interior was extensively restored after the earthquake of 1703.

The trapezoidal tower to the right of the palace, which is the emblem of the city, was lowered in 1420 by Corrado Trinci during his occupation of the town.  The Commune retored it to its original height in 1429.  Its bells and clock were moved to the campanile of Sant' Emiliano in 1461 when the tower threatened to collapse.  It was restored in 1462-4 and its new bell was installed in 1522.  It owes its present appearance to another restoration in 1691.



The buildings to the right of the Torre del Comune stand on the site of the medieval Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo.  The tourist office is in the next building on the right. 

Leave Piazza Mazzini by Via Beato Placido Riccardi, opposite Palazzo del Comune.  There must have been a gate in the inner circuit of walls at the junction with Via San Filippo (the second turning on the right).  This is the circuit that was built after the sack of 1214, probably on Roman foundations.

Turn right here, following the line of the inner walls, past Palazzo Approvati on the right.

Palazzo Approvati (1497)

The inscription on the portal records that Cristoforo Approvati, who was a doctor, built this palace.  The inscription also included the family's Cicerian motto: "VIRTUTE DUCE COMITE FORTUNA" (with virtue as a guide and fortune as a companion).



The street leads into Piazza della Rocca, which must have been the site of the Rocca di Trevi.  The ex-church of San Filippo Neri is on the left and Palazzo Valenti della Prepositura is on the right.

Rocca di Trevi (1421)

It seems that this was the site of a fortress and prison, which Corrado Trinci built in 1421 when he was appointed papal vicar of Trevi.  Francesco Sforza ordered its destruction in 1424 when he marched with the army of Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi against the Trinci. 

It is odd that a structure that lasted only three years is still remembered in the name of the piazza and the road leading to it: this might be because it had been so odious to the people and/or because the ruins were visible for some time after the demolition.  It is also possible that an earlier fortress had existed on the site.



San Filippo Neri (1643)

The ex-church probably stands on the site of the Rocca of Trevi.  By 1643, it was the site of a house that Giovanni Antonio Costa gave to the Fathers of St Philip Neri.  They established a church here, but moved to Santa Maria in Sion (see below) in 1676.

The property was subsequently returned to domestic use.



Palazzo Valenti della Prepositura (ca. 1650)

Giovanni Battista Valenti built this palace (also known as il Palazzino).  It passed to Anton Francesco Valenti

in the early 18th century and he included it in the family "prepositura".  This was an endowment  for the second sons of the family, who generally went into the church.  However, it passed out of the ownership of the family in 1742.

The palace is now a hotel and restaurant, Hotel Antica Dimora alla Rocca.











Cross the piazza diagonally to the left.  The closed side entrance of Sant’ Emiliano is in front of you.  Turn left here, past the apse and apsidal chapels of the earlier church and turn right to reach the entrance.  This is the highest point in the city ad was originally the centre of what was probably a walled acropolis.

Palazzo Lucarini is opposite the entrance to the Duomo.

Palazzo Lucarini (15th century)

This palace, which belonged to the Lucarini family, has two portals:

  • The smaller portal (16th century) bears the arms of the Lucarini and Valenti families.

  • The larger portal, like the windows above, dates to the 17th century.

Virgilio Lucarini established a seminary here in 1674 that became known as the Collegio Lucarini.  The palace was damaged by an earthquake in 1832, at which point the college was moved (via Palazzo dei Valenti di Riosecco - see below) to the convent of San Francesco.

In 1993, Giancarlo Politi (the founder of the Flash Art Magazine and a native of Trevi) founded the Flash Art Museum in the palace.  It recently closed, but the space is still be used to exhibit contemporary art.



Turn left on leaving the church and walk back down towards Piazza Mazzini.  This street is known as Via del Duomo, although it is formally named for the Blessed Placido Riccardi.  An inscription on the wall of the building next to Palazzo Lucarini records that he was born here.

The huge Palazzo Petroni follows on the right. 

  • Walk along its left side and look to the right when you reach the junction with Vicolo del Sette to see a second façade. 
  • Turn left along Vicolo del Sette into Piazza Mazzini and then turn right and immediately right again to leave the piazza along Via Dogali.  Turn right at the T-junction along what is still Via Dogali to see the third and finest of the palace’s three facades.

 Palazzo Petroni (ca. 1600)

Grifone Petroni built this huge palace, which incorporates a number of earlier buildings and extends along Via Beato Placido Riccardi and Via Dogali.

 
Facade in Via del Duomo
 
Facade in Vicola del Sette
 
Facade in Via Dogali



Portico del Mostaccio ahead, which was another gate in the inner walls, has been incorporated into Palazzo Petroni Bartolini.  Walk up the steps on the right to see the view from the bifore window above it.  The ex-church of San Pio V (also incorporated into Palazzo Petroni Bartolini) is the next building on the right.

Chiesa di San Pio V (1600)

Muzio Petroni gave part of the family palace to the Jesuits in 1600.  They founded a church here for that was dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. 

The complex passed to the Dominicans in 1616 and they retained its ownership after they moved their convent to what is now Piazza Garibaldi (see below) in 1626.  They changed its dedication in honour of Pope Pius V, presumably after 1696, when the order instituted to process for his canonisation.  (He was canonised in 1712).



Turn left along Via Cavour, passing the ex-church and monastery of San Bartolomeo on the left.

San Bartolomeo (14th century)

Nothing is known about the early history of this small church and convent, which stand on foundations provided by the inner walls of Trevi.  It is documented in 1385 as "San Bartolomeo o dei sacchi", suggesting that the nuns followed a rule of poverty and were thus probably Poor Clares.

The complex was in private hands in 1495, when a small community of women managed to acquire it and reinstate it as a nunnery.

The nuns  established an orphanage here in  1796, and this subsequently became a secular institution.   It is now  adapted to form apartments. 

Two  frescoes  survive:

  • The fresco (early 15th century) of the Annunciation above what was  the church is attributed to the Maestro della Dormitio di Terni.  It was restored and covered in 1999 but finally protected in a way that allows it to be seen in 2002.

  • A fresco (16th century) of the Crucifixion with SS Emilianus, Mary Magdalene and others, which is attributed to Fabio Angelucci da Mevale, was re-discovered on what seems to have been the altar wall during recent work on the property.  (It is visble in front of you if the door happens to be open).

 









 
 


Turn right at the end along Via del Fiscale, which is named for Benedetto Valenti, who was papal treasurer to Pope Clement VII and Pope Paul III.  The two circuits of walls coincide from the point, and there are fine views from the terrace to the left. 

[What seem to be Roman foundations and a pedestrian gate are visible somewhere near this point.] 

All that remains of the ex-church of Santa Reparata is on the left. 

Santa Reparata (1578)

This wayside chapel was built above a tower in the city wall.  In 1625, Lorenzo Castrucci, Bishop of Spoleto ceded it to the Confraternita delle Stimate di San Francesco.  Most of it was demolished in 1854 when the road was widened. 

The fresco (16th century) depicts the Madonna and Child with SS Emilianus and Reparata.

 

 


The inner walls swung away from the terrace just before this point, and you are now entering the part of the city that was developed between 1214 and 1264.  The terrace continues along the line of the outer walls, with fine views of San Martino ahead and below. 

Largo Don Bosco and the entrance to the Museo della Città and the Pinacoteca.  These are housed in a wing of the ex-convent of San Francesco, which was built in front of the façade of the church in the 19th century.  Continue along the terrace and make a clockwise circuit of the church to see its apse and then the fine portal in its right side.

The space in front to the portal is formally, Piazza San Francesco.  Alessandro Valenti paid for its paving in 1560.  If you stand with the portal behind you, Palazzo dei Valenti di Riosecco is on the left, at the junction with Via San Francesco. 

Palazzo dei Valenti di Riosecco

(1545-56)

The brothers Sforza, Domizio and Alessandro Valenti began this palace and Sforza's son, Lelio Valenti completed it.  He is commemorated in the inscriptions above the last two of the windows on the first floor:

  • One of these inscriptions refers to Lelio and his first wife, Ottavia Attavanti; and

  • the second refers to Lelio and his second wife, Ortenzia Tomassoni.

This branch of the family enjoyed the title of Counts of Riosecco, an honour first conferred by Pope Julius III when he gave Alessandro Valenti the Villa di Riosecco outside Trevi.  Pope Pius V confirmed the honour and made it hereditary in 1566.

The last member of the family to own the palace was Paolo Valenti, who was a canon of Sant' Emiliano in the early 19th century.  He put it at the disposal of the Collegio Lucarini for a period after an earthquake had damaged Palazzo Lucarini (see above) in 1832.  (The college then moved to the convent of San Francesco opposite).



Walk along Via dell' Ospizio, which is parallel and to the left of Via San Francesco.  This street is named for the Chiesa dell' Ospizio and the adjacent hospice, which stood on the left, near the junction with Piazza Mazzini. 

Chiesa dell' Ospizio (1517)

The hospice and adjacent church passed to the Capuchin Fathers and was administered by the Confraternita del Gonfalone.  There are traces of frescoes (14th century) high on the left.

The inscription on the door records:

MDXVII
T(EM)P(O)RE P(RI)ORAT(I)
BLA(N)CI JACOBI CELLI

1517 
In the time of Prior
Banco Jacopo Celli




Leave Piazza Mazzini back along Via Roma into Piazza Garibaldi and turn right along Via delle Fonti, with the outer walls on your right to Porta del Cieco (1264). 

The church of San Constanzo (12th century), which stood outside this gate on the site of the marytrdom of St Constantius, was demolished in 1890.  The author Virginia Ryan, who lived in Trevi, writes about her discovery of what seem to be the remains of this church in her garden in her book , "Where the Cypress Rises".

Walk through the gate and follow the line of the walls to Porta della Strada Nuova. 

Porta della Strada Nuova (1857)

This is the most recent of the gates of Trevi.  It was designed by Domenico Giannelli for the new road that was needed to allow vehicular access to the city. 

The first autobus service connecting Trevi to the railway station used this road and entered the city through this gate.


 






Palazzo Natalucci is  just inside the gate, on the right of Via Antonino Fantosi.

Palazzo Natalucci

The palace is one of several in Trevi that belonged to the Natalucci family.  It has been adapted over  the centuries, and owes its neo-Classical facade to the widening of the road in 1857.

The palace seems to have been the location of the printing factory that the German printer Johann Reinhardt established in Trevi with members of the Lucarini family in 1470.  This was only the fourth such establishment in Italy.  Unfortunately, the business did not prosper: in 1472, its assets were sold to Evangelista Angelini da Trevi, who set up a business in Foligno (on the site of Palazzo Orfini there) with another German printer, Johann Neumeister.

The palace now houses the Hotel Trevi.







Take the right fork here along Via della Piaggia.  The word "piaggia" means "slope", and it refers here to the suburb that developed on the hillside outside the walls in the early 13th century.  It was enclosed in the outer walls in 1264.

The ex-Ospizio di San Stefano and the adjacent church are on the left, just before another street merges from the left.

San Stefano (12th century)

This  hospice and adjacent church were first documented in 1177, when Pope Alexander III confirmed the complex as a possession of the Abbazia di San Pietro in Bovara.

The inscription on the wall of the hospice imposes a curse on Pope Gregory XI, who had apparently violated the rights (presumably the property rights) of the abbey.  

The church was still in use in 1713, when it was recorded during the pastoral visit of Bishop  Giacinto Lascaris.   However, it was subsequently abandoned. The church is now a private house.

 
 
 


Continue down past the pink façade of Palazzo Petrelli on the right into Piazza della Piaggia, the site of the ex-church of Santa Maria in Sion.


Palazzo Petrelli

(16th century)

The palace bears the arms of the Petrelli and Petroni families.  The portal (17th century) at right angles to the main facade originally provided access to the garden.



Santa Maria in Sion

(17th century)

Cardinal Erminio Valenti owned this palace.  Romolo and Lavinia Valenti gave it to the Fathers of St Philip Neri in 1671,  but the community was suppressed at the instigation of Giacomo Valenti in 1673.  The Prior of San Fabiano (see below) transferred the title of the parish to this church in 1676.

The church is now a private residence.


Take a short detour by continuing on the upper road and through the arch at the end into Piazza della Torre. 

The piazza is named for the squat tower to the left of the arch, which seems to have been built using stones at the base that had been recovered from a Roman structure.  The arms over the entrance arch belong to the Valenti family, and this piazza was originally a private courtyard:

  • Palazzo Valenti, il Collegetto is on the left; and

  • Palazzo Valenti is in front of you.

In the 16th century, Benedetto Valenti  decorated this arch with Roman sculpture from his celebrated collection (see below).  Some of these are now in the Museo della Citta.


Palazzo Valenti, Il Collegetto (1534)

Natimbene Valenti built the first palace here in the 15th century for the cadet branch of the family.  Benedetto Valenti built the present palace on the site.



Palazzo Valenti (1575)

Benedetto Valenti lived at an earlier palace on this site.  He was Procurator Fiscal to Pope Clement VIII (who stayed these in 1532 on his way to Bologna) and Pope Paul III (who stayed here in 1535).   The present palace houses the important collection of Roman artefacts that he accumulated.  This was the subject of a book (1537) "Antiquitates Valentinae" by Francesco Alighieri, a direct descendant of Dante.

Romolo di Benedetto Valenti built the present palace and Giacomo di Quintiliano extended it in 1670 .

The palace also houses two fresoces (14th century) that were recently detached from Palazzo Trinci, Foligno, which depict Pentecost and the raising of Lazarus.


Return to Piazza della Piaggia and take a short detour along the lower road on the left (Via del Crocifisso, which is signed to Santa Lucia) past the Chiesa del Crocifisso on the right to Santa Lucia.

Chiesa del Crocifisso (1562)

This church belonged to the Compagnia del Crocifisso.  The arms above the portal belonged to Cardinal Erminio Valenti, and the inscription (1608) records his patronage.

[I have not managed to visit the church, but it apparently has a fine Baroque interior.]



Santa Lucia (1344)

Bartolomeo de Bardis, Bishop of Spoleto established a Benedictine nunnery here for a small community that included members of the family of Nardolo di Accursuccio.

The piazza in front of the convent and the church was laid out in its current form in 1586 and the church was rebuilt in 1635.

The inscription over the portal records the rebuilding in the time of Abbess Agnes.  It also mentions Lorenzo Castrucci, Bishop of Spoleto.

A document (1629) in the local archive records that, when Abbess Agnes was a little girl,  St Joseph of Leonessa  cured her of a terminal disease.  This occurred shortly before his death in 1612, when he was probably staying at the Capuchin hermitage outside the city (see above).

The nuns from Sant' Alò in Spoleto (see Spoleto, Walk I) was merged with this community in 1965 and finally moved here in 1974.

 

 

 


Return to Piazza della Piaggia and continue down along Via del Priorato, which meanders down to Santa Croce.  (You can see the façade of the church from the start of the street, but it takes a few twists and turns to reach it.)

Santa Croce (ca. 1685)

A Benedictine nunnery was established here at an unknown date.  It was dependent on St Peter’s, Rome.  It was united with another nunnery, Santa Maria Maddalena in ca. 1368, when this second nunnery was demolished to facilitate the building of new city walls.  Its church was destroyed by fire in 1394, although traces survive in the nunnery.

The community was suppressed in 1816, at which point the convent was converted into a female orphanage.

  • A fresco (14th century) of the Crucifixion was detached from the external right wall of the old church and illegally sold by the parish priest in 1912.  [Traces survive on the external right wall, in the garden near the entrance to the old nunnery ??]

  • Another  fresco (14th century) of the Crucifixion, which is attributed to the Maestro del  Crocifisso di Trevi, was detached from inside the old church and is now in the Pinacoteca.

  • The altarpiece (17th century) on the high altar of the church is attributed to Lazzaro Baldi.  It depicts he baby Jesus on His mother’s lap, holding a cross, with SS Benedict and Mary Magdalene.






Take a short detour along Via dei Monasteri, which runs along the left side of the church, to see Porta del Borscito (1264).

Return and continue along Via dei Monasteri to Santa Chiara.

Santa Chiara (1666)

According to some authorities, a community of Poor Clares existed here from at least the late 13th century.  However, it is documented only from the 16th century.

Cardinal Cesare Facchinetti, Bishop of Spoleto commissioned the present church.  An earlier church survives as its internal choir.

 

 


There are now two options:

  • return to Piazza Garibaldi.

If you decide on the latter, return to Piazza della Piaggia and Piazza della Torre.  The steps to the right of Palazzo Valenti take you back to Via Fiscale.  Follow the street along the terrace through Largo Don Bosco and continue into Piazza Garibaldi.

The piazza is not particularly attractive, unless it happens to be market day.  Proceeding anti-clockwise:

  • the Fontana dei Cavalli is set into the wall to the right of Banco Populare;

  • the Civic Hospital beyond stands on the site of the ex-church and convent of San Domenico.  This was previously the site of a small hill that was used for public executions; and

  • the war memorial is on the left of the hospital. 

Fontana dei Cavalli (1579)

The fountain was originally in Piazza del Comune (Piazza Mazzini - see below).  The column of the fountain, which was reused from an earlier structure, has four lions' heads and the arms of the Church, the Commune, and three noble families:

  • the Varano of Camerino;

  • the Monaldeschi of Orvieto; and

  • the Trinci  of Foligno.




San Domenico (1626)

The Dominicans built the church and convent here on land given to them by Virgilio Lucarini. 

[A Lombard burial was discovered here during the construction.] 

This complex was suppressed in the Napoleonic period and the hospital from San Giovanni Decollato was moved to the site.

 
San Domenico, after its adaptation to house the hospital and before the demolition of the church


Detour II, which takes you to a number of interesting churches on the outskirts of Trevi, starts here.

Return to the main page on Trevi.