And Southern Umbrian Valley...

Foligno stands under the sign of Scorpion, portrayed next to the clock of the Palazzo Comunale; the square itself entertains a complex relationship with the stars. The minor facade of the cathedral of San Feliciano shows the world dominated by Christ, the Lord of Time. The twelve signs of the zodiac on the portal are represented as the months of the year; the four evangelists as the seasons; the sun, moon and stars as following the night and day one after the other. Even in Palazzo Trinci the cycles of he stars recall the passage of time and the seven ages of man. The almanac of Barbanera originated in Foligno. Written as a sort of gospel for the rural classes in 1700, it is still printed in Foligno today and circulated in the whole of Italy.

Foligno was founded by the Umbrians shortly after the battle of Sentino in 295 B.C and then it became a Roman principality named Fulginium. It was an important centre on the Flaminian way. Feliciano was the saint and martyred there in the year 250, and he was also patron of the city. A small church was built, where he was buried, and around this grew a large town, Castellum S. Feliciani. It passed through all the stages of being invaded by the Barbarians then the Hungarians and the Saracens. Then under the Emperor Barbarossa it became autonomous and prospered. In 1200 it was reoccupied by the troops of Frederick II of Svevia and became a Ghibelline town, with many small battles against the Guelph town of Perugia. Canals were dug, and near the river they built mills and tanneries, then opened markets where people could meet and trade with those from other centres. At the beginning of the 1300''s they had to surrenderto the Guelph until about 1439. The battle won by Corrado III Trinci caused the popes men to intervene. Cardinal Vitelleschi was sent to clean up Foligno and expel all the Trinci family; only Rinaldo Trinci, the bishop of Foligno, managed to take refuge with the Sforza family from Milan, and so the city became under the control of the church. In 1472 Emiliano Orfini from Foligno opened a printing factory, publishing the first 300 copies of the Divine Comedy, the first book ever printed in Italy in the Italian language. Other than this, Foligno''s fate was similar to other Umbrian cities. The ancient Roman town plan, based on blocks, still remains in evidence today with the central marketplace. The Middle Ages has left its mark through the buildings around the Duomo however the prevalent influence is that of the 1700''s given the presence of the noted Foligian architect, Piermarini. Around 1780 the parco dei canape was built, an area purely for promenading, as was the custom of the time.

The only other major recent influence was the building of the railway late last century, which also meant building workers houses, some villas, offices, barracks, a steel works and a sugar factory.

Is the cathedral dedicated to S. Feliciano, dating from the beginning of the 12th century. It is built where the saint was buried, and has been added to in various styles, firstly Romanesque Gothic. The Romanesque entrance , with the characteristic horseshoe arch, is decorated with the images of Barbarossa, Pope Innocence III, the symbols of the zodiac and the evangelists. The dome is from the 1500''s. The interior, in single nave form was renovated in 1700 by the local architect, Piermarini, but the crypt is still Roman.

Work began at the end of the 1300’s and was still happening a century later. The façade was redone in 1700. The atrium, with its big portico and gothic stairs, is splendid. The walls show frescoes based on humanist and allegorical themes. The chapel has scenes of the life of Maria and the contents of the rooms of the palace are now being distributed to the Pinacoteca, the ArchaeologicalMuseum , and the Municipal Library in which there is also an interesting collection of manuscripts and early printed books.

Is a very old church from about 1000 years ago. The original portico was renovated , especially the upper part which features an interesting double lancet windows. The bell tower is Roman and a somewhat primitive construction. The interior shows three naves decorated with frescoes, also in the chapel dell ''Assunta, which is Byzantine.

Constructed in the mid 1200''s and renovated many times since. The tower is from the -1400’s and has crenellations, while the external columns were added in the 1700''s.

Oratorio della Nunziatella

Built at the end of the 1400''s, it offers two frescoes by Perugino inside: the Padre Eterno and the Baptism of Christ.

Chiesa di S. Agostino

Built in the 1200''s, but had a major renovation in the 1700''s. The façade is studded with bricks and the large side entrance door is quite stunning.

Monastero dei SS. Anna e Antonio

Built at the end of the 1300''s by the instruction of Beata Angelina di Marsciano and called "of the countesses", it was painted in the Renaissance.

Chiesa di S. Francesco

Built in the 1200''s. Here lies the tomb of Beata Angela di Foligno.

Chiesa di S. Domenico

Was built in 1250  in the Gothic style and has frescoes from the 14th and 15th centuries: the Crucifixion was painted by  P. A. Mezzastris.

Chiesa di Sant''Eraclio

Was built in the early 1300''s and features the Trinci family coat of arms on the door of the church.

Chiesa di S. Salvatore

Was built shortly after the year 1000 and is mainly Romanesque in style, with three Gothic doors and mullioned windows on the church tower. The interior was renovated in the 1700''s.

Chiesa di S. Giacomo

Was built in the 1200''s together with the convent where the Servi di Maria live. It has been retouched many times. The beautiful palaces from the 1500, 1600 and 1700’s which you see along the main streets give a majestic and unique look to the whole of the old centre. The most famous ones are the Palazzo Orfini, Deli, Bocci, Guiducci etc.

Chiesa di San Giovanni Profiamma

Erected at the beginning of the 1200’s on an earlier Roman structure where the Forum Fiaminii was, the forum being named after the console who was responsible for the construction of the road in 219 B.C. though the local language finally settled on the name “profiamma”.

Inside it has an elevated presbytery and a semicircular platform which is similar to many buildings in Ravenna. Beneath the altar you will find the crypt.

Abbazia di Sossovivo

Founded at the foothills of Monte Serone at the end of 1000 by the Benedictines and then ceded to the Olivetani. it is famous for its cloister which has a mosaic frieze and a series of small marble columns.

Santuario di S. Maria in Campis

Near Rasiglia on the old Flaminia way, it was built in the mid 1400''s on the remains of a Christian basilica called S. Maria Maggiore in medieval times.

Pale (475m above sea level)

A medieval town, noteworthy for its castello dating from the 1500''s, its large leafy green areas. The Sasso (stone) of Pale is the great mass of rock that sits on the river Menotre, from whose summit at 960  metres, the whole valley can be see. Nearby, there is the "Caves of Pale or of the Abbesses " , visited for centuries for the richness of its  limestone formations. A hermitage was also founded here.