Bevagna
Visit Bevagna
Bevagna is a small town in the Umbria region of italy, close to Spello.
Entering the town by way of Foligno Gate you will have a good view of the Roman and medieval walls, which are fairly well preserved and with towers of various shapes, usually square, but also round and polygonal. To visit in this area is the Church of St. Francis, built around the 13th century, together with the bell tower. The interior was renovated in the 18th century but contains works dating back to earlier centuries. In the Chapel of Holy Sacrament there is a "Pieta", signed by Ascensidonio Spacca, called the “Fantino” of Bevagna [1557-1646] (1506). Two frescoes on the Chapel vault were also once ascribed to him ("Jesus Crucified" and “St Francis kneeling”), then later ascribed to Dono Doni (1505-1575). In front we can still see the Roman Theatre (first century AD), which could hold, they say, about 10,000 spectators.
Going down to the Piazza Garibaldi and Cannara Gate there is an ancient medieval church, now partly destroyed, the Madonna of the Snow. This is located near an ancient temple (second century AD), dedicated to Saturn, or perhaps to Hercules. Opposite is the Via di Porta Guelfa beside which the Roman Thermae were found. In a room of these baths a mosaic floor is still visible - it is black and white, with scenes of life in the sea, with figures of tritons, seahorses, lobsters and squid.
Along Crescimbeni Street we reach the Corso Matteotti where the Palazzo Lepri stands, built in the late 17th century by Andrea Vici (1743-1817), designed by Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), which lodges the Bevagna Town Hall and Museum. The museum has an archaeological section, which preserves various finds from the Archaic, Imperial and Medieval period. The art gallery also has an extensive collection of artists who worked in Bevagna, such as Dono Doni ("Madonna and Child"), Ascensidonio Spacca, Andrea Camassei (1602-1649), Corrado Giaquinto ("The Holy Family") [1703-1766], and Joseph Esperlin (1707-1775). In three other rooms, landscapes, portraits and works of artists are exhibited, such as those of G.B. Pecetti (1693-1743) [for more works in Bevagna by this very Realist painter see the Cloister of San Domenico, where he painted over 20 works about the life of San Giacomo], G.B. Michelini (1604-1697), and Francesco Providoni (XVI century).
In the Central Square of Bevagna, the Church of San Domenico and Fra Giacomo was built in the late 13th century. It has a portal of the 14th century with a painted lunette. The interior has a nave, with three apses and in the center there are some frescoes dating from the fourteenth century (an "Annunciation" and some “Scenes from the Life of St. Dominic”); in the side there are some wooden sculptures of thirteenth century, a "Madonna and Child" and a Crucifix.
In the Piazza Silvestri, a conspicuous example of typical medieval architecture, you can see the most significant monuments of the city including the Palazzo dei Consoli (XIII century), decorated with slabs of travertine. The façade has two orders of mullioned windows and a large-scale side leading to the first floor great hall, transformed into a theatre in the 19th century.
The most famous religious monument of Bevagna is the Basilica of St. Sylvester, built in the 12th century by “Master Binello” and well preserved in its original structure. The façade was built of blocks of travertine and red stone; it has a single door with around arch and above three windows can be seen, corresponding to the three naves into with which the church is divided. Above them runs a continuous cornice. The decoration of the Portal and façade has a strong symbolic value; for example, in the frieze of door is a small mountain to symbolize Christ while the four streams symbolize the four Evangelists and the growing vine represents the Church or God himself. In the cornice various animals are also depicted, such as a fox and deer, with a clear symbolic significance, as was typical of medieval sculptures. For us it is difficult to understand immediately the symbolic representations of certain plants and animals but medieval man, although illiterate, sensed immediately the message. The interior is not large; it has three naves, elegantly connected with arches.
Next to San Silvestro there is the Church of San Michele Arcangelo (XII century), also built by 'Master Binello' together with “Master Rodolfo”, both followers of the Umbrian school of marble. The interior has three naves, joined by a series of arches. The church suffered various modifications over the centuries, and damge due to landslides caused by earthquakes. It holds a crucifix by Providoni, a silver statue of St. Vincent by Peter Ramoser (1785) and some frescoes by Andrea Camassei (1624-28).
Around Bevagna
In the surroundings of Bevagna there is the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace, erected in 1583 and with three naves - inside are some paintings ascribed to “Fantino” of Bevagna.
Already famous in Roman times for the ceramics coming out of the “Popilius” shop, Bevagna has preserved over the centuries a strong tradition of craftsmanship, as in wrought iron and wicker. Good examples of the Bevagna handicraft are available during the so-called "Mercato delle Gaite" ("districts") and where you can find many different objects, the works of dyers, carpenters , tanners, glassblowers, and also local products, like cheese, meat, salt, lentils, honey, oil, precious stones, eggs, wine, glass, spices and silk.
See also history of Bevagna
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