Palazzo delle Canoniche (1923-6)

The first documented building on this site was a fortified residence that was built in the 11th century.  

This palace was rebuilt in 1293 as a residence for the canons of the Duomo, who lived here as a monastic community.  The Trinci lords adopted it as their residence in the 14th century.   A passage (ca. 1429) that ran behind the minor facade of the Duomo (on the left in the illustration) linked this palace to Palazzo Trinci.

The building was re-modeled in the 16th century and again, by Giuseppe Piermarini, in 1764.  

The palace owes its current appearance to an extensive restoration carried out in 1923-6 under the auspices of Michele Faloci Pulignani:

• the old bifore windows in the wing next to the minor facade of the Duomo were re-opened; and

• a neo-Gothic structure was added next to the main façade of the Duomo . 

A number of adjacent buildings were demolished at this time to create a clear view of the façade of the Duomo. 

The Museo Capitolare e Diocesano (entered from the Duomo) was re-opened in the Palazzo delle Canoniche in 2008.

Palazzo Comunale (1546-1642)

The present building is the result of a radical reconstruction of two 13th century communal palaces:

• Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo; and

• Palazzo dei Priori.

The palace was restructured in 1546-65 and again in 1629-42.  Antonio Molari carried out another extensive restoration in 1835-8, after the earthquake of 1832.   His work concentrated on improving the symmetry of the palace and might have included the design of the neo-Classical façade.  The north wing of the palace had to be rebuilt after the damage inflicted in Second World War.

The central tower survives from the 13th century, although its upper part was rebuilt in the 16th century.  The clock was installed in 1909.  This tower is at the geometric centre of the city and was probably used as such when the line of the "new" city walls was planned in the 14th century.

The original exterior walls of both palaces and the base of the campanile can be seen from Via Colombi Antonietti, the street under the open archway in the façade.

Palazzo Orfini (1515)

This palace (illustrated below, to the left of the ex-Palazzo Comunale) belonged to the Mariotto and Emiliano Orfini, who financed the activities of the exiled German printer Johann Numeister, so that Foligno became an early centre of printing in Italy.  (Numeister had left Germany after the sack of Mainz in 1462, and was in Foligno by 1463.) 

• Emiliano Orfini had worked as a goldsmith and a minter of coins in the Vatican, and he collaborated with Johann Numeister as an engraver as well as a financier. 

• A third collaborator in this venture was Evangelista Angelini of Trevi. 

The plaque over the lovely portal records that the first copies of Dante's Divine Comedy were printed in 1472 in a workshop that stood on this site.

Ex-Palazzo Comunale (1262-5)

This building (illustrated here before its restoration, to the right of Palazzo Orfini) has been continually modified over the centuries, and was badly damaged in the 1997 earthquake.   It is now in restoration.

Nevertheless, the ogival arch that dominates the façade is original.  So too is the the base of the tower to the left of it.

Palazzetto del Podestà

(13th   century)

This building was probably the nucleus of the first Palazzo Comunale.  Despite its present name, there is no reason to believe that it was ever the residence of the Podestà.  When the Palazzo Comunale was built to the left of it, the Palazzetto probably ceased to be a public building. 

It subsequently passed to the Trinci family, who built the loggia (ca. 1429) on the third storey, which originally communicated with Palazzo Trinci to the right.  The communicating passage over what is now Via Gramsci was demolished in the 18th century. 

• Traces of frescoes (1424-8) of the Cardinal Virtues, which are somewhat uncertainly attributed to Giovanni di Corraduccio, called Mazzaforte, survive on the exterior, above the windows of the loggia.

• The monochrome frescoes (15th century) in the loggia, which were discovered in 1986, illustrate the mythical founding of Foligno and the virtues and legitimacy of the Trinci family.

• The seven Roman heads representing the seven ages of man that were originally on pediments at the bases of the columns between the arches of the loggia are now in Palazzo Trinci.

• The frescoes on the end wall illustrated here were photographed from the point at which this passage originally entered Palazzo Trinci.

 [Courtyard behind the palace ?]

Traces of fresco on
the right wall -
a reminder of the original
corridor to Palazzo Trinci

Oratorio del Buon Gesù (1561)

Giovanni Battista Vitelli (1538-1621) founded this oratory in 1561 on the model of that of St Philip Neri in Rome.  The oratory was built on the site of the ancient Ospedale di San Feliciano and an earlier church that was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.  The local historian, Ludovico Jacobilli (1598-1664) was among its members. 

The oratory  was damaged in the bombardment of 1944:

• its altarpiece of the Immaculate Conception (17th century) by Andrea Sacchi was destroyed; and
  

• the remains of Giovanni Battista Vitelli and the inscription from his damaged monument were transferred to Cappella Jacobilli, in the left transept of the Duomo.
  

The building now houses now the Centro Sportivo Italiano.

Sant' Apollonia and the

Ospedale di Santo Spirito (12th century)

This was originally the site of the church and Cassinese monastery of San Silvestro. 

The dedication was changed in 1311 when the monastery was transformed into a hospital and united with the Ospedale di Santo Spirito, Rome.

Madonna delle Scuffiole

(14th century)

This is one of the oldest Marian images in Foligno, but it was repainted in ca. 1930.  It depicts the Madonna del Latte: "scuffiole" refer to the head gear that was used for new babies, so the usual title of the image can be translated as the  "Madonna of newborn  babies".  It is believed to help mothers who cannot produce milk and to cure sick babies.  Even today, mothers hang their babies' bonnets here in the hope of improving their health. 

Mass is said here each 1st June: the lower image here shows the service taking place in 2008.

Oratorio di San Giovanni Decollato (ca. 1428)

The oratory belonged to the Confraternita di Santa Maria della Misercordia, which was also known as the Confraternita degli Impiccati (of the hanged) because its members took it upon themselves to comfort those condemned to die.

The confraternity moved to the Oratorio della Misercordia in Via Aurelio Saffi in 1569 (see Walk II):

• They took with them a tabernacle of the Crucifix (1463): it was moved to the sacristy of the Duomo in 1904 and is now in the Museo Capitolare e Diocesano.

• A number of frescoes that were detached from the oratory shortly before its demolition in 1869 are now in the Pinacoteca Civica.  These include three (ca. 1428) that are attributed to Giovanni di Corraduccio, il Mazzaforte:  

• the Madonna della Misercordia (Room 2, number 23);
  

• the Crucifixion with the Virgin and SS John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene (Room 2, number 24); and
  

• a fragment of the Madonna and Child (Room 2, number 25); and
  

• the Coronation of the Virgin (early 15th century - Room 5, number 15)
  

San Giovanni Battista (12th century)

The convent here belonged to an Augustinian community from 1314 until 1493, when it passed to the Hieronymites (hermits of St Jerome). 

The church was re-modeled in 1719-20. 

The convent was suppressed in 1810, when it passed to the Piermarini family (see below).

Ospedale Civile (1740-50)

Francesco Baldoli built the first hospital here in the early 15th century, on a site adjoining that of the Hieronymite monastery. 

The monastery itself passed to the Piermarini family after the suppression in 1810, and Gregorio Piermarini (the brother of the architect Giuseppe Piermarini) donated it to the hospital in 1839.  The new civic hospital here was inaugurated in 1859, and the Ospedale Vecchio on Corso Cavour (see below) was closed soon after. 

The hospital moved to new premises in 1989.

Torre dei Cinque Cantoni (1450-6)

This tower formed part of the reinforcment of the city’s defenses initiated by Pope Nicholas V.  It has an hexagonal plan, but the side facing into the city was originally open (hence the name of the tower - five sides).  The closing wall and the adjacent house were built in the 18th century.  

The tower is now used as an observatory (see below).

Santa Maria della Consolazione (1581)

This church was built to house a miraculous image that was originally in the wall of Santa Lucia.

It was closed in 1921 and is now in ruins.

SS Trinità in Annunziata (1760-75)

This church was built on the site of an earlier one dedicated as Santa Cecilia.   It was built to house a community of female Franciscan tertiaries that Bishop Mario Antonio Maffei had formed in 1755 by merging two nunneries:

• SS Trinità (13th century), which was demolished and used for the Reclusario Pio Pontifico (see Walk II); and
  

• SS Annunziata (1370-1), which (according to tradition, Blessed Paoluccio Trinci had founded on this site.

The church, which was designed by Carlo Murena, was never finished.  It has an unusual val interior.  The church and nunnery were suppressed in 1860.

The church, which is in restoration (January 2008), is destined to house the Museo di Arte Contemporanea Folignate.

Porta San Felicianetto (14th century)

This gate is the only one to survive from the walls that were built in the 14th century walls.  Stretches of the walls can be seen to each side of it.  The canalised Menotre river, which ran along this section of the walls, was diverted underground in 1989.

The gate is named in honour of St Felician, who passed this way in chains on his way to Rome in 251.  It was also known as Porta della Croce because the church and Augustinian nunnery of Santa Maria della Croce (1286) stood nearby (at the junction of Via Umberto I and Via Oberdan). 

The gate was closed in the 18th century and converted into a large aedicule with a fresco that presumably depicted St Felician.  It was returned to something like its original appearance in 1920, by which time the walls immediately adjacent to the gate had been demolished. 

Ospedale Vecchio (1517-20)

The Ospedale di Santa Maria was recorded here in 1341, when it belonged to the Franciscan followers of Angelo Clareno from San Lorenzo di Rapecchiano (between Spello and Foligno).   By 1350, it had passed to the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem and had become known as the Ospedale di San Giovanni Battista.  It was  associated with the nunnery of Santa Maria del Popolo (see above). 

In 1448, it passed to the newly-instituted Confraternita della Pietà, and became known as the Ospedale di San Giovanni Battista della Pietà.  They rebuilt it i the period 1517-20.  

The small church that formed part of the complex was first documented in 1573, when it was described as small and in good condition.  An inventory of the paintings of Foligno assembled in 1852 described it as covered with frescoes.

The hospital closed in 1860 when the present Ospedale Civile (see above) was inaugurated.  The church within was destroyed when the complex was restructured in 1873-4 for the Scuola di Arti e Mestieri (technical college).  Many of its frescoes were destroyed: those that survive are now in the Pinacoteca Civica.  These include:

• St Jerome as a cardinal and as a penitent (late 15th century), which is attributed to Pierantonio Mezzastris (Room 1, number 31);

• the Coronation of the Virgin (1486) , which is signed by Pierantonio Mezzastris and dated (Room 1, number 37);
  

• the upper part of a Madonna and Child with angels (15th century), which is attributed to Ugolino di Gisberto (Room 3, number 47);
  

• St Amicus (1508), which is attributed to Bernardino Mezzastris (Room 4, number 55); and
  

• a fragment of a Nativity (16th century), which depicts the baby Jesus lying in a meadow (Room 4, number 67)

Porta Romana (1872)

This was the site of a gate in the 14th century wall (also known as Porta Contrastanga) that was reinforced by huge towers in 1452.  Remains of these earlier structures were excavated in 1989 when the canalised Menotre river, which ran along this section of the walls, was diverted underground to permit the building of Viale Cesare Battista.

Teatro Piermarini (1827)

The theatre was established in 1827 in a palace (16th century) that belonged to the Gregori family.  It was originally caller Teatro Apollo, but received its current title (in honour of the architect Giuseppe Piermarini) after its restoration in 1891.

The building was destroyed in the bombardment of 194, and only its facade survives.   This now forms part of a modern building that houses an excellent café.

Palazzo Piermarini

(early 19th century)

The architect Giuseppe Piermarini lived here from 1798, the year in which he returned to his native Foligno.  He held an influential salon here and probably still lived here at the time of his death in 1808. 

The palace was subsequently sold and rebuilt using materials from this earlier building.  The portal has the inscription “NON NOBIS DOMINE NON NOBIS” (Not unto us, Lord, Not into us), which is from Psalm 115 and formed part of the motto of the Templars.  The connenction if any between the site and the Templars is unknown.

The palace now belngs to the Commune and houses the Scuola Giuseppe Piermarini, a junior school with its entrance at 21 Via Piermarini.

Santa Maria Maddalena

(13th century)

This church was destroyed in the earthquake of 1832. 

• Two carved lions (13th century) from the entrance are now displayed in the ticket office of Palazzo trinci, which forms part of the Museo Archeologico.  They were carved from stone that bears a Roman inscription (1st century AD).
  

• A fresco (15th century ?) known as the Madonna del Riscatto that was rescued from the ruined church was moved to the Monastero di Santa Caterina Nuova in 1853.
  

Although there is no documentary evidence, tradition has it that Giuseppe Piermarini was buried in this church.

Palazzo Varini (15th century)

This palace (on the left in the illustration) was built across an opening between what is now Piazza Garibaldi and the Canale dei Molini. 

The arms on the 1st floor are those of the Varini family.  A Gothic window from an earlier building have been reused on the 2nd floor (on the extreme right).

The palace was housed the Conservatorio delle Convertite, a refuge for fallen women, in the period 1740-1816 and an orphanage in the period 1823-64.  It was restored after the earthquake of 1997 and since 2005 has housed the Camera di Commercio.

Chiesa del Suffragio (1724-45)

Francesco Orfini built the Oratorio della Madonna delle Rose (1633) here to house a miraculous image of the Virgin. 

The Confraternita del Suffragio, a confraternity that was dedicated to prayer for the salvation of souls in purgatory, subsequently moved here from the church of Santa Marta (see above).  They demolished the Madonna delle Rose and built the present church, which is also dedicated to Sant’ Anna.

The church is in the form of a Greek cross with cupola.  Its neoclassical façade dates to 1826.

The altarpiece (1634) of the holy family on the altar on the right is signed by Marcantonio Grecchi and dated by inscription.

The church is in restoration (June 2008).

Casa di Gentile da Foligno

(14th century)

This house belinged to Gentile da Foligno,  a doctor who was celebrated for his treatise on the plague.  He nevertheless died in Perugia during the Black Death of 1348.