What to See in Spello, Between the Flower Festival and Pinturicchio

Spello is a municipality in Umbria well known for its splendid historic center, the works of Pinturicchio, and the flower festival that every year, on Corpus Christi day, attracts many tourists.  Spello Umbria. It is located about 219 meters above sea level, thus in a very favorable position for flora, and is perched on the slope of Mount Subasio, above the Topino tributary.  It is only 4 kilometers from Foligno and about 35 kilometers from the Umbrian capital, Perugia. Spello is also culture, thanks to its heritage made up of museums, art galleries, ancient villas. Here is what to see in Spello in half a day or even in two days.

What to see in Spello

1 Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore e Pinturicchio

Founded in the 11th-12th centuries, the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Spello features a façade dating back to 1644 made on the occasion of the building’s expansion. Notable are the architrave, the jambs with a beautiful frieze and acanthus scrolls of the portal, works by stonemasons active between the 12th-13th centuries between Foligno and Bevagna, partly attributable to craftsmen from Spoleto. The church has a Latin cross plan and features a nave with a ribbed vault. In the second half of the 17th century, it was equipped with as many as seven altars and a rich stucco decoration. On the altars, numerous works attributable to the 17th century. To the right of the entrance, the marble altar of Gaius Titienus Flaccus (now used as a holy water font) already present in Santa Maria Maggiore since the 15th century, next to it a marble baptistery, shaped like a pyx, by Gasparino from Val di Lugano (1509-1511).

Spello Pinturicchio

Along the left wall, after the second left altar, opens the Baglioni Chapel, commissioned in 1500 by Troilo Baglioni to the artist Bernardino di Betto called Il Pinturicchio (Perugia, circa 1452 – Siena, December 11, 1513). It features a floor rich in maiolica decorations from Deruta from 1566. The chapel is entirely decorated with frescoes by the artist, starting from the vault’s sails with the Tiburtine, Eritrean, European, Sami sibyls seated on thrones; on the left wall, the Annunciation with a self-portrait and signature of the artist. On the back wall, the Adoration of the Shepherds and arrival of the Magi, on the right wall Dispute among the Doctors in the Temple.
Also along the left wall, note the Renaissance sandstone pulpit by Simone da Campione (1545). The high altar covered by the ciborium (or tribune) made of caciolfa stone by Rocco di Tommaso da Vicenza (1515). In the roundels; eight terracotta heads by Giandomenico da Carrara: Prophets (1562). On the pillars flanking the apse two works by Perugino, on the left “Pietà, Saint John the Evangelist, and Mary Magdalene”, removed from an unknown location (work dated 1521) and on the right “Madonna with Child, Saint Catherine of Alexandria and Saint Blaise”, removed from an unknown location (work dated 1521).

2 Infiorata of Spello

In the days leading up to the Corpus Domini in Spello Perugia, there is a true general mobilization of numerous teams of Infioratori, who scatter along the slopes of the Subasio, through the fields and plains of the green Umbrian valleys. Visiting Spello during this period is a very experiential event. During the flower gathering, other citizens, especially the older ladies, spend their evenings in the cool ground floors, separating petals by color and finely chopping fragrant herbs.

On the eve of the Corpus Domini, from early afternoon, the streets of Spello involved in the Procession route are closed to traffic and literally invaded by groups of citizens and visitors of all ages.
First, appropriate lighting systems are set up and then tested protection systems (rain and windproof structures) are installed on the affected road sections, to prevent unpredictable adverse weather conditions from disturbing or jeopardizing the work of the Infioratori. After these preliminary operations, the drawing on the road surface begins, using a variety of techniques: from freehand drawing to stenciling, from metal molds to cardboard templates.

After the drawings are completed using different techniques, the multicolored petals are finally deposited to achieve the desired chromatic tones and artistic effects. Throughout Saturday afternoon and all night before the festival, the Infioratori work on the streets, bent over the ground, drawing, depositing, and arranging millions of petals capable of producing those magical masterpieces that blend ancient and modern art, full of emotional and cultural suggestions, connected to themes of religious tradition and also current events.

The work lasts all night, and only by 9:00 in the morning are the streets covered by a unique colorful and fragrant carpet: a one-of-a-kind spectacle. It is enough to consider that on a single floral route, about 70 Infiorate are typically created including carpets – each between 12 to 15 meters long, with a minimum area of 15 sqm – and large paintings – ranging from 25 to 90 sqm. The uniqueness of the event is certainly due to the technique used, which exclusively employs untreated plant elements with no chemicals, preservatives, or artificial or powdered dyes; in this way, the petal, placed on the road surface (it cannot be glued), reigns supreme in an engaging ensemble of colors and scents. The works are directly created on the raw road surface without any treatment: the subjects and decorations continually renew, tied to the great tradition of Umbrian painting, from the Renaissance to the 18th century, and sometimes the figurative themes also connect to major modern art expressions.
With the passage of the Sacred Procession led by the Bishop carrying the monstrance, an experience of high artistic commitment, civil, cultural, and human solidarity, ethical and religious tension concluded in a brilliant harmony of colors. Source Municipality of Spello.

What to visit in Spello

3 Civic Art Gallery of Spello

The Civic Art Gallery of Spello is located in the historic center, in Piazza Matteotti. Since 1994 it has been housed in the Palazzo dei Canonici, a sixteenth-century building adjacent to the church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Visiting the museum will allow you to get in touch with the history of the city through its valuable testimonies. The collection was born in 1916, when the prior of the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maggiore gathered a first group of works chosen from the most significant pieces preserved in Santa Maria Maggiore and in the oratories dependent on it. To this were added objects previously acquired following post-unitary dematerializations.

The current visit itinerary, divided into seven rooms, is inspired by chronological and typological criteria that allow appreciating the relationships between Spello and other artistic centers of Umbria over centuries. In addition to numerous paintings, fabrics, and sacred furnishings, of significant interest is a thirteenth-century wooden Madonna (even if mutilated by the theft of the child in 2008), the early fourteenth-century Deposed Crucifix, the gilded silver processional cross by Paolo Vanni from 1398, and the Madonna with Child attributed to Pinturicchio. Originating from the adjacent church of Santa Maria Maggiore, the latter invites visitors to see the Cappella Bella, a remarkable frescoed work by the same artist.

4 Permanent Collection Emilio Greco

The permanent exhibition of Emilio Greco was set up to pay tribute to the artist on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the first exhibition in Spello, featured in Incontri per le strade in 1983, and recipient of honorary citizenship in 1985. Following this, the artist donated a substantial selection of works to the municipality. The collection is divided into three rooms according to the chronological order of the works, including graphics, lithographs, etchings, drawings, and a selection of sculptures in bronze, plaster, and resin, dated between the mid-1960s and the late 1980s. Undoubtedly the most evocative work of the museum path is Accocolata. Continuing the museum visit, the visitor’s attention cannot fail to be drawn to the female figures proposed by the artist, especially frequent in his portrait production created between the mid-1950s and the early 1960s.

5 Villa Fidelia

Villa Fidelia is located a short distance from the historic center of Spello, near the Roman amphitheater and the Romanesque church of San Claudio. The very ancient Roman settlement on which the villa stands consisted of a large sacred area, which included the so-called Temple of Venus, the Theater, and the Baths. The original layout was built in the 16th century by the Counts Acuti Urbani of San Lorenzo. In the 18th century, the villa passed to Donna Teresa Pamphili Grillo, who transformed and expanded the residence built by the Urbani and implemented the Italian garden. Upon her death, the property first passed to the Sperelli counts and, later, to the very wealthy landowner Gregorio Piermarini, who made significant transformations and expansions between 1805 and 1830. After various events, in 1923, the villa was purchased by engineer Decio Costanzi, who subdivided the complex, selling the oldest part to the Missionary Sisters of Egypt and the remaining part, including the Casino, the gardens, and the annexes, to the Province of Perugia.

The most notable aspect of Villa Fidelia is the extraordinary external arrangements that gave rise to the Vesuvian garden at the entrance, the racetrack, the Italian garden, and the park with the cypress grove. The garden called the “Vesuvian” or Baroque garden, located near the entrance, is designed on a steep inclined plane leading to the entrance gate of the casino. Bounded on the long sides by a double row of majestic cypress trees, it consists of rounded terraces connected by sinuous staircases that alternate with short grassy areas with boxwood hedges skillfully shaped into unique forms. The centerpiece of the composition is the beautiful exedra fountain, placed centrally, featuring a statue of Diana, goddess of the hunt, and topped by the elegant backdrop that conceals the cistern, decorated with niches and surmounted by the clock. Juxtaposed to this unique garden, in the twentieth century, the large racetrack with a circular shape was built.

Of older design is the Italian garden, dating back to the 18th century, located at the back of the casino. The garden, narrow and rectangular in shape, over 150 meters long, is currently divided into four large main flowerbeds, each doubly bordered by boxwood hedges and further subdivided into four smaller flowerbeds. The internal parterres were entirely occupied by rose bushes. A large number of citrus pots decorate the garden edges, which in spring are enriched by their intoxicating fragrance. The uphill edge is lined with rows of cypress trees, the main protagonists of the layout, which also includes the beautiful park and the dense holm oak grove. The villa hosted Queen Joanna and King Boris of Bulgaria during their honeymoon in 1930. The villa hosts theatrical performances, concerts, and opera events in its park. Since 2003, it has been the venue for temporary exhibitions.

Spello and surroundings

6 Mosaics of Villa Sant’Anna

In July 2005, just outside the walls of Spello, remains of a monumental complex of considerable size came to light. Subsequent archaeological investigations identified seven rooms, probably related to the central body of a villa or a public building of the late imperial era.
One room of the Villa Sant’Anna almost entirely preserves the three-colored mosaic flooring (white, pink, and black), depicting geometric elements. In a second room, the flooring, also in polychrome mosaic, and remains of polychrome frescoed walls are preserved. The flooring covers about 140 square meters and features a modular scan decoration commonly called “cushion” with zoomorphic and anthropomorphic representations. Inside the oval cushions are depicted figures of wild animals (panther, deer, wild boar, duck, etc.) and fantastic creatures.
At the center of the room emerges a pouring scene with two male figures, nude, in profile. The figure on the left supports an amphora on his shoulders from which he pours wine into a cup held by the figure on the right; the wine falling from the glass is collected in a crater resting on the ground. Other figures, also made with black tesserae, are symmetrically arranged holding plant elements or attributes related to agriculture, probably representing the four seasons.
A third room features geometric flooring with larger tesserae. It is very likely the peristyle whose entire length of 24.50×5 m is known.
The fluidity of the design and the chromatic rendering, especially in the larger room, testify to the high technical quality of the workshop, whose craftsmen may have come from Rome to meet the needs of a particularly wealthy client and a specific social status. The villa can be dated to the early 4th century A.D., to which the materials returned from the excavation also seem to point.

What to do in Spello

7 Subasio Municipal Theater of Spello

The Subasio Civic Theater is located within the historic center of Spello, not far from the remains of the Arch of Augustus. It is an elegant neoclassical style building, constructed in 1787 based on a design by Alessio Lorenzini, characterized by a horseshoe-shaped plan developed in three tiers of boxes with a total capacity of 200 spectators. Notable is the rich stucco and painted decoration featuring ancient Latin mottos. The seat of the Subasio Theater was previously used as a meeting place for members of the Academy of the Quiet and then restored and transformed into a venue for performances directly managed by the Academics.

8 Spello hotel

Hotels, guesthouses, holiday homes where to stay in Spello.