Foligno - Walk II
Terzieri Mediano and Inferiore
This walk begins in Piazza della Repubblica. A line across the minor facade of the Duomo marks the main division
of the city into "terzieri" (i.e. thirds). With your back to the facade, this line runs:
along Via XX Settembre on the right to Porta San Giacomo; and
along Largo Carducci and Corso Cavour on the left to Porta Romana.
Everything in front of you as far as the city walls belongs to the Terzieri Mediano and Inferiore. (See Walk I for Terziero Superiore behind you).
Take Via Antonio Gramsci, which runs in front of Palazzo Trinci to your right and marks the border between Terziero Mediano (on the left) and Terziero Inferiore.
Palazzo Nuti Deli is on the right, just beyong Palazzo Trinci, at the end of the first block.
Palazzo Nuti Deli (1510-6)
The palace was built at the time of the marriage of Francesco Nuti of
Assisi and Roderica Varini of Foligno, and incorporates the tower of an
earlier building on the site. It passed to the Deli family in the 17th century. A recent restoration has revealed the original pink stone of the facade. The lovely portal bears the coats of
arms of the Nuti and Varini families. The palace now houses the State Archives. |
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Piazza Don Giuseppe Minzoni, to the left of Palazzo Nuti, was formed in 1944, when
bombs destroyed a palace on the site. An inscription records that Giuseppe Minzoni
(for whom it is named) was a victim of Fascism. He was a parish priest
in Ferrara and was murdered there in 1923 by the Facist Italo Balbo. The interesting modern fountain in the piazza features a number of turtles.
Sant' Apollinare stands at the back of the piazza. Take a short detour along the street to the right of it to see the bac, in the market square, Piazza del Grano.
Sant’ Apollinare (12th century)This church, which is in the form of
a Greek cross, is among the oldest in Foligno. It was the seat of the Confraternita della Morte, and is alternatively known as the Chiesa della Morte. The Baroque architect Sebastiano Cipriani re-modeled the interior in 1725. Bishop Filippo Trento commissioned a panel (1791) of the Annunciation from Gaetano Gandolfi for the high altar [where is it now ??]. An inscription on the wall in Piazza del Grano records a "solemn procession of penitance" in 1815. The church is now closed. |
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Back of Sant' Apollinare, with an expanded image of the inscription mentioned in the text |
Return to and continue along Via Antonio Gramsci. Turn left along Via Aurelio Saffi, just before Casa Benedetti at number 69 Via Antonio Gramsci, which incorporates fragments from a Roman mausoleum (1st century BC).
The façade of the ex-church of San Carlo on the left at number 24 Via Aurelio Saffi.
San Carlo (1612) The Barnabites built this Baroque church, which was
probably the first in Italy to be dedicated to St Charles Borromeo. It closed in 1810. |
Palazzo Cibo Nocchi is at the junction with Via Mazzini, with its entrance in the latter street (at number 60).
Palazzo Cibo Nocchi (1497)Bishop Luca Cibo probably built this Renaissance palace. The date is inscribed on the portal. The bishop was actually called Luca Borsciani but was given the right to use the name and arms of the Cibo family by Pope Innocent VIII (Giovanni Battista Cibo). The arms in question are depicted above the portal. A detached fresco (early 15th century) of the Annunciation, which is attributed to Andrea di Cagno and came from the Palazzo Cibo Nocchi, is now in the Pinacoteca Civica (Room 2, number 18). |
Retrace your steps a little way along Via Mazzini and take the next turn on the right along Via della Misercordia to the Chiesa della Misercordia (on the left, opposite number 11).
Chiesa della Misercordia (1565-1658)The Confraternita della Misercordia built this church when they left their original seat in Via Mentana (see Walk I). They brought with then 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. The Confraternita di San Girolamo built an oratory to the right of the church soon after its formation in 1544. |
Continue along Via della Misercordia, turn right along the Vinciola Misercordia, left at the end into Via Mazzini and on into Piazza Matteotti, which was opened up after the bombing of the Second World War. The excellent Hotel Italia is on the left.
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Turn right at the end, along Via Antonio Rutile into Piazza San Francesco. The church and convent of San Francesco are across the piazza, with
the entrance to the convent at number 9, to the right of the church.
The building to the left of the church is the Oratorio del Gonfalone.
Oratorio del Gonfalone (1725-38) The Compagnia di Santa Maria del Gonfalone, which was originally known as the Confraternita della Madonna del San Francesco, was formed in 1533 in honour of a miraculous image on outside wall of the Cappella di San Matteo of San Francesco. The confraternity’s first oratory was a small building constructed to protect this image. The confraternity changed its name in 1575, when it was affiliated to the Arciconfraternita del Gonfalone, Rome. Its first oratory on this site was built in 1614. This oratory was in a ruinous state by the early 18th century, and the Baroque architect Sebastiano Cipriani was commissioned to design the present elliptical oratory in 1724. When the reconstruction of the San Francesco began in 1796, its precious relics were temporarily transferred to the new oratory. It is now de-consecrated and in the last stages of its restoration (June 2008) |
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Retrace your steps along Via Antonio Rutile and take the first turn on the right into the Piazzetta Beata Angela da Foligno. According to tradition, the Blessed Angela Angela da Foligno lived at the house (14th century) at number 39.
Continue along Via del Campanile, which now runs to the left of and then behind the house and the Oratorio del Gonfalone. It then turns left, with the base of the old campanile of San Francesco on the right.
Turn right along Via Luigi Fratini. Look through the gate of the convent of San Francesco on the right to see (from right to left):
the present semi-circular apse;
the back wall of the original square apse, with a large window;
the back wall of the Cappella di San Matteo;
the back wall of the sacristy; and
a number of conventual buildings that follow the line of the city wall.
The imperial palace was further along on the left.
Continue to the end of Via Luigi Fratini and turn right into Via Benedetto Cairoli.
Take the second turn on the left along Via del Cassero, which follows the line of the 13th century wall. The street is named for a fortress that Cardinal Albornoz built against the walls in 1360. The fortress was demolished in 1439 at the time of the downfall of the Trinci lords, although some remains survive on the left at the junction with Via Santa Caterina.
Turn right at the end along Via Santa Caterina, which again follows the line of the 13th century walls. The church and monastery of Santa Caterina Vecchia are at the junction with Via Madonna del Giglio.
Santa Caterina Vecchia (or delle Vergine) (14th century) A community of Poor Clares that was established outside the walls in 1225 moved here in 1290 and subsequently built the present church. This community was suppressed in 1860, although it re-appeared in 1887 at the Monastero di Santa Caterina Nuova. After more than a century of disuse, the church is being restored for secular purposes. [The fresco cycle (late 14th or early 15th century) on the right wall of the presbytery, which depicts scenes from the life of Christ, is attributed to the Maestro dell’ Abside Destra di San Francesco di Montefalco.] The frescoes from the church that are now in the Pinacoteca Civica include:
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Continue along Via Santa Caterina into Piazza San Domenico. The remains Casa degli Atti are at number 25 on the right.
Casa degli Atti (14th century)This palace belonged to the Atti family. It has been largely rebuilt, but the arms of the family survive, embedded in the original ground floor loggia. The palace passed to the Jacobili family in the 1660s and to the Cataleni family later in that century. |
Take short detour here by turning right along Via Mazzini to see Palazzo Gentili-Spinola at number 125 on the right.
Palazzo Gentili Spinola (16th century)The original palace on this site belonged to the de Comitibus
(later de' Conti) family, who were descended from the Conte di Antignano e Coccorone. According to tradition, the original palace survived a lightening strike in the early 16th century, an event that prompted Sigismondo de' Conti to commission the Madonna di Foligno (ca. 1511) from
Raphael. (This important altarpiece was originally in Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Rome. In 1565, Sigismodo's niece,
Anna de' Conti arranged for the altarpiece to be moved to Sant' Anna. It is now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome.) The de' Conti line became extinct in 1561 with the death of Cecilia, and the palace passed to her husband's family, the Seggi. Sebastiano Spinola da Savona bought it in 1586: the inscription "Sebastianus Spinula Savou" on the architrave of the portal suggests that it was rebuilt between 1586 and Sebastiano's death in 1596. The palace passed to Flaminia Spinola, who married into the Gentili family. The arms above the portal are those of Sebastiano Gentili Spinola, who was Bishop of Terni in 1656-67. If the door is open, you can see the lovely inner courtyard. The octagonal well there bears the arms of the de' Conti family. |
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| Santa Maria Infraportas, with the campanile of San Domenico to the right |
Return to Piazza San Domenico. The church of Santa Maria Infraportas is on the far side of the piazza, with San Domenico (see below) the right. The campanile of these two churches belonged originally to the 13th century wall: this wall ran behind and to the right of Santa Maria Infraportas before turning through 90° towards what is now the campanile of San Domenico.
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| Largo Frezzi, along the right side of San Domenico. The Oratorio del Crocifisso is behind it, with Palazzo Brunetti candiotti to the right of it (see below) |
The street is named for the humanist Federico Frezzi, who belonged to the convent before his election as bishop of Foligno (1403-16). The inscription on the wall before the entrance to San Domenico commemorates Frezzi’s most famous work, the poem il Quadrilegio, which was probably written at San Domenico in the period 1395-1403 and was dedicated to Ugolino III Trinci.
On leaving San Domenico, turn left along Largo Frezzi and then right along Via Antonio Gramsci. The Oratorio del Crocifisso is immediately on the left, next to the Palazzo Brunetti Candiotti at number 2-4.
Oratorio del Crocifisso (1587-99)This oratory belonged to the Confraternita del Crocifisso, which was formed in 1570 and was affiliated in 1573 to the Confraternita del Santissimo Crocifisso of Rome. The confraternity initially used a chapel in the adjacent San Domenico, but it purchased this site (then an orchard) from the friars in 1587. The oratory was complete by the end of the 16th century and decorated in three phases, in 1643, 1665 and 1702. |
Palazzo Brunetti Candiotti (1781)The Brunetti family were wealthy merchants who built this palace to
establish their social status in the city. It subsequently passed to
the Candiotti family. You can walk through the portal to see the rear of the palace, which has a series of plaques that commemorate the many notables who stayed here “in the grand manner”: the French General Giocchino Murat in 1801; Duke Amadeo Ferdinando Maria of Aosta in 1882; Duke Emmanuel Philiberto of Savoy in 1889; and King Umberto I of Savoy in 1899. |
Look back from here at what was the side entrance to the Oratorio del Crocifisso, with the campanile of San Domenico behind it. The 13th century wall ran from the campanile along the line of intersection of the nave of San Domenico and the reconstructed apse. It then turned 90° to the right, with a gate that roughly corresponded to the arch that now leads to the oratory (pointed out above).
Continue along Via Antonio Gramsci to the junction with Via Scuola dei Arti e Mestieri on the right. All of the buildings on the block beyond, bounded by Via Antonio Gramsci, Via Scuola dei Arti e Mestieri, Via Palestro and Via del Liceo constituted the Insula dei Vitelleschi in the 14th century.
Insula dei Vitelleschi The Vitelleschi family owned all the property here until 1359, when it was expropriated by the Trinci lords. Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi regained it when he retook Foligno for the papacy in 1439. The property has now been divided into four imposing palaces.
The palace now belongs to the Comune.
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| Palazzo Vitelleschi |
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| Inscription on the piano noblie of Palazzo Vitelleschi that commemorates Cardinal Vitelleschi's defeat of the Trinci lords in 1439 |
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| Palazzo Piermarini |
Turn right into Via Scuola dei Arti e Mestieri (at which point you enter the Terziero Inferiore) and continue past the ex-church of San Tommaso Cipeschi on the left.
San Tommaso dei Cipischi (1190) An inscription on the façade records that Bishop Anselmo degli Atti
(1155-1201) consecrated the church, which derives its name from that of
the locality (Rione Cipischi). The interior was re-modeled in the 18th
century. The church was de-consecrated in 1955. |
Continue to Piazza San Nicolò and church of San Nicolò.
Continue a little way further along Via Scuola dei Arti e Mestieri and turn right along Via Reclusario. This street is named for the Reclusario Pio Pontificio, which was established in the small square on the left about half way along it.
Reclusario Pio Pontifico (1766) This was originally the site of the Monastero della SS Trinità (13th century), which belonged to a community of Franciscan tertiaries. Bishop Mario Antonio Maffei arranged the merger of this community with that of SS Annunziata in 1755, and the merged community moved to the new church of SS Trinità in Annunziata in Via Garibaldi (see Walk I). The Reclusario, a house of correction for young people, was then established on the site during the pontificate of Pope Pius VI. |
Continue to the end of Via Reclusario to the junction with Via San Giovanni dell’ Aqua. Take a short detour by turning right to Piazza XX Settembre on the left. This is the site of three important palaces:
Palazzo Monaldi Barnabò is on the left:
Palazzo Jacobilli Carrara is on the right; and
Palazzo Gherardi is at the far side of the piazza.
Palazzo Monaldi Barnabò (1620-8) The
inscription over the portal of this palace records its first owner,
“MAXIMILIANUS MONALDUS”. This was Massimiliano Monaldi di Spello, who
amassed a fortune by acquiring a monopoly over the sale of salt in
Umbria. He began acquiring property here in 1620 and construction on
his new palace was complete by 1628. The palace passed to the
Barnabò family in the early 18th century and then to the Commune. It
housed the Liceo Federico Frezzi until it was damaged in the earthquake
of 1997. It is now in restoration. A fresco (15th century) of the Madona and Child with saints, which is attributed to Ugolino di Gisberto, was discovered in Palazzo Barnabò in 1908. This suggests that the palace was adapted from a much earlier structure. The fresco is now in the Pinacoteca Civica (Room 3, un-numbered). |
Palazzo Jacobilli Carrara (ca. 1565) The
inscription over the portal of this palace records its first owner,
“FRANCISCUS JACOBILLIUS”, who belonged to the family of the famous
historian, Ludovico Jacobilli. It subsequently passed to the Carrara family of Terni and then, in 1859, to the Commune. |
Palazzo Gherardi (re-modeled in the 16th century) This
is the oldest of the three palaces. Traces of the original Gothic
structure survive at the rear. The asymmetric front entrance is also
evedence of the fact that the palace was re-modeled rather than rebuilt. The
inscription over the portal reads, “PIER ALOYSIUS GHERARDUS MILES S.
PETRI”. This records Pier Luigi Gherardi, who was Master of Horses to
Pope Paul III. |
Retrace your steps along Via San Giovanni dell’ Aqua and continue past the church of San Giovanni dell’ Acqua on the left.
San Giovanni dell’ Acqua (13th century) This parish church was first documented in 1239. The original church had two naves. It was re-modeled in 1776, when one nave became the present church and the other became the sacristy |
The street then crosses the Canale dei Molini, which runs along what used to be the course of the Topino. The 13th century walls ran along the riverbank, with a gate (Porta della Spada) across this street. The so-called Mulino di Sotto is on the right (at number 20-22).
Mulino di Sotto (13th century)This mill, which was owned by the Commune, was in use for both grain and olives until ca. 1920. It was severely damaged in the earthquake of 1997 and has been recently restored. |
Continue along Via San Giovanni dell’ Aqua and turn left into Orte Orfini at number 17.
Cross the orchard and leave by the exit on the right. Turn left along Via Isolabella, which becomes a passage between two buildings of the Liceo Scientifico. This area is called Isolabella because it was indeed an island before the Topino was diverted in ca. 1280.
Take the steps up on the left just before the underpass. The bridge on your left was built in ca. 1280 across the residual canal, when the river was diverted to the north and incorporated into the new city walls in the 14th century.
Turn right along Via Madonna della Grazie along the line of the 14th century wall. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is ahead on the right, at the point where the road reaches the diverted river.
Santa Maria delle Grazie (1898) The church preserves a miraculous terracotta image of the Madonna and Child (ca. 1400) in an aedicule on its facade. Bishop Luca Cibo (1490-1522), who was a Servite and thus dedicated to the cult of the Virgin, arranged for the building of the first oratory here to house this precious statue. A new church was built on the site in 1603. Vincenzo Benvenuti designed the current church, which replaced it in 1898. |
Continue along Via Madonna delle Grazie to the point at which it becomes Via Francesco Ciri to the junction with Via San Giovanni dell’ Aqua. This was the site of the Porta San Claudio (14th century) and a now-demolished bridge over the river. Turn right along Via San Giovanni dell’ Aqua, past the remains of the church of San Claudio immediately on the left.
San Claudio (1229) In 1228, Pope Gregory IX bought the church and hospital on this site and gave them to a community of Poor Clares. In 1514, two sisters moved here from Santa Lucia in order to reform the community. The nunnery was suppressed in 1860. The church is now a garage and the nunnery has been converted into apartments. Vestiges of the side of the church church and the cloister can be seen from the inner courtyard at number 40. The frescoes of the church were detached in 1868 and are now preserved in the Pinacoteca Civica. These include:
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Continue past the Mulino di Sotto. The entrance here to the Portici delle Conce (see below) is still closed (June 2008) for restoration. If this is the case, take the next left, Via delle Conce to the junction with Via Santa Margherita. Take a short detour by turning right to see Palazzo Barnabò, at number 26-28 on the right.
Palazzo Barnabò alle Conce (ca. 1510)The Borsciani Cibo family probably built this palace. The facade has two entrances, one of which bears the Cibo arms. [Was this originally the Monastero delle Vergini ??] |
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| Inside Palazzo Barnabò |
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| Back of Palazzo Barnabò |
The adjacent house (at number 30) is interesting. [More - was this a church ??]Retrace your steps and continue along Via Santa Margarita to the point at which the canal emerges on the left.
The Portici delle Conce
(the medieval porticoes that belonged to the tanneries along the canal) run along the left bank of the canal. (It will soon be possible to walk along this side of the canal instead of using the parallel Via delle Conce).
- The house opposite (number 8 - with a car park in what was once its garden) belonged to Federico Flavio.
- The ex-church of Santa Margherita is opposite (i.e. on the right).
Santa Margherita alle Conce (1722-33)The original parish church on the site, which was first documented in the 13th century, was oriented at 90° to the present church, with its facade facing the canal. It was also known as the Oratorio di San Giuseppe or della Trinità, because it belonged to the confraternity with this dedication. Santa Margherita was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1997 and has only recently re-opened after its restoration. |
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Continue past the façade of Santa Margherita and turn right into Via Feliciano Scarpellini and right again into Via XX Settembre, which leads into the Piazza della Repubblica, where the walk ends.
Return to the home page on Foligno.