Sant'Ansano, Spoleto
Sant'Ansano is a neoclassical-style, Roman Catholic church located in the town of Spoleto, in the province of Perugia, region of Umbria, Italy.
History
A church at the site had been built around the tomb of St Isaac, a Syrian eremitic monk who supposedly came to a mountain around Spoleto in the 6th century. The present church was built in the late 1700s by the Milanese architect Antonio Dotti.
Inside are housed a fresco depicting the Madonna and Child and two Saints by Giovanni di Pietro, also called Lo Spagna and a main altarpiece depicting the Martyrdom of St Ansano by Archita Ricci.
Below the church is the Crypt of Sant'Isacco, which had been constructed in what had been a ground-level, ancient Roman temple. The crypt has romanesque-style, sculpted capitals (8-9th century) for the columns. It also has some 11th-12th-century restored frescoes.[1]
References
- Comune of Spoleto, entry on church, quoting L’Umbria, Manuali per il Territorio, Spoleto, Roma 1978; A. Sansi, Degli edifici e dei frammenti storici delle antiche età di Spoleto,Foligno 1869.