Category: Attrazioni Bevagna

The layout of the Piazza dates back to the 12th-13th centuries and has always represented the heart of the city. It is one of the most evocative and famous squares, considered to be among the most important medieval urban realisations in Umbria.

First named after Umberto I, King of Italy, today its name pays homage to fellow citizen and entomologist Filippo Silvestri, who achieved great fame thanks to his valuable studies in the fascinating world of insects. Considered worldwide to be one of the founders of agricultural entomology, Silvestri theorised the biological control of pests using other insects.

Originally, there was an octagonal cistern in the center of the square, which was replaced in 1896 by the current fountain. A characteristic element of the room is the Roman column with Corinthian capital, known as the San Rocco column.

It is overlooked by the imposing and elegant Palazzo dei Consoli (1270), the largest civil building in Bevagna. Constructed in travertine and sandstone, its façade is enlivened by a double row of Gothic double lancet windows at the top and rests on a large loggia, which is accessed by pointed arches framing the direct access from the street level.

A wide, scenic staircase gives access to the first floor which, since 1886, has housed the Teatro Torti, , a 19th-century jewel set in the old palace, designed by architect Antonio Martini. Developed with a horseshoe layout, on which three tiers of boxes and a gallery open, the ceiling is decorated with a representation of the arts in the form of dancing Muses, the work of Mariano Piervittori. There are two curtains: the original one by Domenico Bruschi depicting 'Propertius pointing out his homeland to Torti', and the modern curtain, created in the 1990s by Luigi Frappi, a contemporary Bevanate painter, which depicts the poetic cippus, the small temple of Clitunno and the river Clitunno, with a highly evocative landscape view.

The palace is contrasted by the buildings of religious power:

• the church of San Silvestro, a jewel of Romanesque architecture, erected in 1195, with its façade, unfinished at the top, has a beautiful travertine portal and, in the center, a marble triple lancet window with two twisted mullioned windows at the sides;
• the Church of San Michele Arcangelo, opposite and contemporary to the 'twin' Church of St Silvestro, with a solemn Romanesque façade and horizontal crowning. The middle and minor portals, with their three-mullioned window, are noteworthy. On the right stands the solid, domed bell tower with Gothic triple lancet window;; 
• the Church of S. Domenico e Giacomo from 1291, built on a pre-existing oratory donated to Blessed Giacomo Bianconi by the municipality. The façade features a beautiful late 14th-century polystyle portal, decorated in the lunette with a fresco.

A curiosity, for those who feel they have already been here before: the village of Bevagna with its square and the buildings that characterise it, in recent years in particular, have been and continue to be the backdrop for various films and TV series that have made it famous even to the eyes of the youngest. 

The mighty Palazzo dei Consoli, the fulcrum of civil life from the Middle Ages onwards, is also the seat and symbol of the Mercato delle Gaite, the historical re-enactment that every year at the end of June dresses the entire village in ancient medieval clothes.

The historical re-enactment is inspired by the ancient medieval division of Bevagna into four quarters called Gaite, from the Lombard watha, meaning 'guard': San Giovanni, Santa Maria, San Giorgio and San Pietro. The four historical quarters of the city, called 'guaite o gaite', compete in contests of crafts, gas-tronomy, archery and the medieval market, offering the public the chance to immerse themselves in a great collective tale.

On this occasion, the daily life of the inhabitants of the village in the period between 1250 and 1350 is reconstructed with historical relevance and a wealth of details: the ancient medieval work-shops reopen their doors, showing the techniques and tools of the past and revealing the secrets of ancient trades such as paper-making,   wax-making,   painting and   silk-making.

The art of brick-making, hemp and wax processing, the domestic tradition of loom-made cloth, the potter's a trade and blacksmith's trade, the production of parchment paper, and coin-making are brought to life with a realistic reconstruction of the economy of the time.

Throughout the year, it is possible to visit the Circuito dei Mestieri Medievali (Circuit of Medieval Crafts), which is made up of four crafts: Papermaking, Painting, Ceramics and Silkmaking. www.ilmercatodellegaite.it

Built-in the late 18th century by architect Andrea Vici, it has a neoclassical façade and door enriched with an elegant wrought-iron rosta. The atrium has Doric columns with a balustrade above. Town Hall until 1997, it now houses the Archives, the Municipal Library and an interesting Council Chamber, decorated by Piervittori who, during the years of Italian Unity, created the medallions with portraits of the illustrious Bevanati.

The 18th-century Palazzo has housed the Civic Museum since 1996, divided into 2 sections:

• the Archaeological Collection created from the main nucleus of archaeological finds donated to the city of Bevagna by Abbot Fabio Alberti, today constitutes an important testimony to the city and its territory in pre-Roman, Roman and late antique times;
• the  Civic Art Gallery , which significantly enriches the knowledge of the history of Bevagna and its territory, especially for the period from the 16th to the 18th century. Most of the paintings belong to this period, with renowned artists such as Andrea Camassei, Ascensidonio Spacca, Dono Doni and Corrado Giaquinto. On the third floor, rooms dedicated to illustrious personalities can be visited: Filippo Silvestri, Mario Mattoli and Agostino Mattoli.

Just outside the walls of the historical center, perched on the surrounding hills of Bevagna are castles that have preserved their architectural layout intact and where walking through their ancient walls, one seems to lose oneself in the history of an epoch out of time.

Cantalupo: the ancient Castrum Cantalupi, located on the banks of the Attone torrent, where the same landscape has witnessed over the centuries the dialogue of St. Francis with the birds.

Castelbuono: one of the three castles, together with Limigiano and Torre del Colle, built in the 10th century on the slopes of the Martani Mountains, defending the territory of Bevagna, towards Todi and Assisi.

Limigiano: The name suggests ancient ties with the god Janus, to whom this territory was perhaps consecrat-ed. The hamlet preserves large sections of the medieval walls.

Torre del Colle: the village is still entirely enclosed by the sandstone walls of the castle, in which a beautiful semi-cylindrical tower, oriented towards the Attone valley, remains visible. The residential fabric retains all the medieval atmosphere. 

One of the important traces of Roman times in Mevania, within the current city itinerary, is the Roman Public Baths, rediscovered in 1891 and dating back to the 2nd century AD.

All that remains of the thermal complex is the frigidarium, the room characterised by cold-water baths in which to immerse oneself after passing through the other two rooms: the caldarium intended for hot-water baths and steam baths, and the tepidarium intended for warm-water baths and sweating.

Here one can admire the mosaic floor, of the frigidarium room, measuring approximately 81 m2, which has been completely preserved. It is of exquisite and refined workmanship, made of black and white tesserae, and depicts both real sea animals, such as octopuses and dolphins, and fantastic creatures, such as tritons, horses and sea bulls. Recent restorations have revealed traces of the caldarium.

In Roman times, Bevagna boasted a river port directly connected to Rome via the Tiber. Of its ancient structure, found under the former Dominican convent, only a few rooms made of opus mixtum remain today, such as the remains of warehouses and service rooms.

The evidence of the Port gives an insight into the substantial commercial activity of Bevagna during the Roman era. In fact, it was located in the center of the Umbrian Valley and the River Port, adjacent to the Via Flaminia, and it was a point of exchange for the various transport systems.

Another landmark of Roman times is located near the junction of the thistle and the decumanus of the old Via Flaminia and is the Roman Theatre. The layout of the medieval houses that were built on top of it later retained the curvature of a large theatre that rested on the slope of the hill and overlooked the Via Flaminia. Built in the 1st century A.D., significant remains of two ambulatories that served as support for the cavea are visible inside private houses. In one section of the ambulatory today there is a reception structure. Finds from the various sites of Bevanate Romanity are kept in Archaeological Collection at Palazzo Lepri.