Abbazia di San Felice di Narco (1194)  


The church here is dedicated to SS Felix and Maurus: according to tradition, St Maurus built an oratory here in the 6th century to house the tomb of his son, St Felix.

The Diocesan Archive of Spoleto preserves three valuable parchment volumes, known as the Leggendari del Duomo (Cathedral Legendaries).

  • The 1st and 2nd volumes were written in 1194 in the scriptorium of the Abbazia di San Felice di Narco.
  • The 3rd volume (early 13th century) comes from the church of San Brizio.

The documents from San Felice record that theBenedictines established a monastery on the site in the 12th century, having drained the surrounding marshland.  According to later documents (1254-7), the church was under the jurisdiction of the now-demolished  Pieve di Santa Maria di Narco.


The monastery was rebuilt in the 15th century.

The church was in ruins by 1530, when Pope Clement VII transferred it to the noble Spoletan, Giacomo Lauri, who restored it.  The interior was re-modeled in the Baroque era but restored to its original form in 1922.  The church and convent were restored again in 2000.

Facade


The facade is in three orders:

There is a relief of the Lamb of God on the tympanum.

The lovely rose window in the upper order is surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists, and there is a bifore window to each side of it.  The relief below the rose window depicts:

  • St Felix taming a dragon as St Maurus prays beside an angel that protects his son: and
  • St Felix reviving a the dead son of a poor widow.

Interior

The church has a single nave.  Steps lead to a presbytery that raised over the crypt.  Panels with Cosmatesque plutei stand to each side of the steps at the entrance to the presbytery.

Christ blessing (15th century)

This fresco in the apse is attributed to the Maestro di Eggi.

Adoration of the Magi (15th century)

This fresco is on the left wall.

Crypt 

Lateral stairs lead down to the crypt.  A central column separates it into two aisles.  Each altar terminates in a semi-circular apse that contains an altar.  An ancient sarcophagus that is said to hold the remains of SS Felix and Maurus stands in a grated enclosure against the pilaster between the two apses.

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