Cappella di San Severo (Chapel of San Severo), Perugia

Cappella di San Severo (Chapel of San Severo), Perugia

Cappella di San Severo, dating back to the 11th century, was built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to the Sun. Between 1748 and 1751 it was rebuilt in its present form. Inside you will find a fresco of the Trinity surrounded by angels and saints. Half of it was painted by Raphael, half by Perugino, datable to around 1505 - 1508 (intervention by Raphael) and to 1521 (intervention by Perugino).

The small chapel, currently composed of a room adjacent to today's church dating back to the eighteenth century, was once part of the left aisle of the fifteenth-century church. Here Raphael was called to work in 1505 (as can be seen from the date on the fresco), when the artist moved between Florence and Perugia and experienced a first peak of popularity with works such as the Pala Baglioni , which would shortly thereafter wide open the doors of Julius II 's Rome .

The commissioners of the fresco are to be identified in the two commendatories of the monastery of San Severo, Troilo Baglioni , former bishop of Perugia , and Cardinal Gabriele de 'Gabrielli of Gubbio , bishop of Urbino. However , not all scholars, including Cavalcaselle , take the date of 1505 as good, suggesting that it perhaps refers to the start of the works, which ended at least two years later: in 1505 , in fact, Raphael's style was still closely linked to the Umbrian school, while in the San Severo fresco there is an unprecedented monumentality.

The artist from Urbino completed only the upper part of the fresco and once he settled in Rome he no longer had the opportunity to go to Perugia. He waited until his death in 1520 to entrust the work to another artist, the old master of Raffaello Perugino , who completed the lower half with a nostalgic re-enactment of fifteenth-century ways.

The work was seen and described by Vasari , who underlined the striking signature of Raphael. A portion of the fresco has been lost over the years, also due to not too accurate historical restorations .
Sight description based on Wikipedia.

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Cappella di San Severo (Chapel of San Severo) on Map

Sight Name: Cappella di San Severo (Chapel of San Severo)
Sight Location: Perugia, Italy (See walking tours in Perugia)
Sight Type: Religious
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in Perugia, Italy

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