The Church of San Bevignate, close to the Monumental Cemetery of Monteluce, is an important evidence of the Templar presence in Perugia, since 1237, as witnessed in several sources. It is somber and mighty in the exterior, while the inside is rendered lighter by a game of slender ridges. On the counter façade a painting cycle about the mission in the Holy Land of the Militia Templi, the knightly-religious Order created in Jerusalem around 1119 by the French Chevalier Ugo de Payns. Frescos of different medieval ages can be found also in the apsidal conch and along the side walls. The Church, on two levels, has in the underground some archeological findings of Roman times.
After important consolidation and renovation works started after the earthquake of 1997, the Templar Complex of San Bevignate has been officially re-opened to the public in 2009 and represents today one of the most important features of the Municipal Museum Circuit; it is moreover a public place of huge fascination and charm, for highly relevant initiatives and cultural events.
The Municipality in 2017entered as active member in the Templar Route European Federation, a European Association that has as its founding members the city of Troyes of the Aube en Champagne Department, the Portuguese city of Tomar and the Spanish city of Ponferrada. The main target of TREF is that of reuniting all territories with monuments witnesses of Templar presence, in order to create a specific Cultural European Itinerary recognized by the Council of Europe.
General Information
- Entrance with fee
- Wheelchair accessible
- bookshop, toilets, parking lot