Chiesa di San Bevignate

Why it matters

The Church of San Bevignate was built outside Perugia in the mid-thirteenth century and is associated with the Knights Templar. After the order was suppressed in 1312, the complex passed to the Hospitallers of Rhodes and later to other confraternities. The church's history connects religious life, charitable institutions and the medieval city.

What to notice

Thirteenth-century wall paintings include scenes from the life of San Bevignate, a Last Supper, saints, a Crucifixion and a Last Judgment. Other paintings depict Templars in prayer and horsemen in battle. A Roman-era fullonica, or cloth-treating workshop, was uncovered beneath the floor during restoration after the 1997 earthquake. The church's simple facade and buttressed exterior give it a fortified appearance.

Context and history

Municipal records document a Templar presence in the Perugia area from the late 1230s. The church was built in the mid-thirteenth century in a district with springs and earlier eremitical associations. The building also preserves the burial crypt of San Bevignate and its original white and pink stone floor.