I do not usually discuss a museum and a church in one post, but in this case the church is actually part of the museum. The church of Sant’Eufemia cannot even be visited separately; it can only be entered from the museum and potential visitors therefore have to buy a…
The church of San Gregorio Maggiore could easily be mistaken for a smaller version of the Duomo of Spoleto. Even though there are a few differences and the huge campanile is on the right instead of the left, the similarities are hard to miss. My first attempt to visit the…
The area around Spoleto has been inhabited since at least the eighth century BCE. Rich grave finds from several necropolises demonstrate that there must have been a settlement here of some importance. Excavations in 2008-2009 in the Piazza d’Armi, north of the railway station, have for instance uncovered the tomb…
As the name of the church of San Paolo inter vineas suggests, it is located outside the city walls of Spoleto, ‘in the vineyards’. It is part of a ring of very old churches on the eastern and southern edges of the city, a ring that includes churches such as…
The San Pietro is located south of the historical centre of Spoleto, at the foot of the Monteluco. The church is and has always been outside the city walls and is therefore also known as San Pietro extra moenia or San Pietro fuori le Mura. It occupies a site that…
Our visit to Spoleto started at the church of San Ponziano, which is located on the slope of the Colle Ciciano, northeast of the historical city centre. It is dedicated to Pontianus of Spoleto, a young man who was said to have been martyred during the reign of the Roman…
One of the first things one should know about the small church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo is that it is not dedicated to the apostles John and Paul, even though some travel guides may state otherwise. The Giovanni and Paolo of the church are two brothers who supposedly lived…
Spoleto’s cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta or Duomo can certainly be counted among the city’s many highlights. The current Duomo was built in the late twelfth and early thirteenth century and replaced an earlier cathedral which seems to date from the eighth or ninth century. This earlier cathedral, known as…