EUHeritageTOUR-TourGuide-Basic-EN

Italy
Matera,
Benevento,
Foggia,Trevi,
Assisi, Brescia
Longobards and the
Places of the Power.
Clitunno Tempietto,
Trevi
Description
The Clitunno Tempietto - a small sacellum in the form of
a tetrastyle Corinthian temple with two side porticoes in
antis - represents a masterpiece of religious and
commemorative architecture, destination of pilgrimages,
a unique construction in terms of structure, decoration,
and countryside, constituting a perfect synthesis
between the construction and natural environment
(Clitunno and the lucus sacro).
The wealth of architectural sculpting is exceptional and
unique and uses spolia and new works in a completely
extraordinary harmonious way that has inspired
international artists and intellectuals since Renaissance
times. The façade features splen¬did columns covered
in leaves from the portico, whose architrave bears an
inscription in extraordinarily carved square Roman
capital letters invoking God complementing the
inscription on the side porticoes. This is one of the rare
examples of monument epigraphs of the Early Middle
Ages. Inside the temple, wall paintings of remarkable
quality, which have been compared to the frescoes in
the presbytery of Santa Maria Antiqua in Rome, fra¬med
a small marble aedicule in the apse, which is also partly
the product of the assemblage of re-used Roman
material and deco¬rations designed for this purpose.
The Clitunno Tempietto represents a remarkable
manifestation of the heterogeneous culture of the
Longobard age. The components of the extraordinary
cultural tradition of Spoleto are perceivable in its
palimpsest.This is one of the rare examples of
monument epigraphs of the Early Middle Ages; the
practice of placing monument inscriptions on the façade
of a building had been abandoned in late antiquity and
was not re-introduced until the 14th century when Leon
Battista Alberti created one for the Malatesta Temple in
Rimini. The general style of the Tempietto, and the
extraordinarily classicizing aspect constituted by reused
materials and ornamentation designed and executed for
the project suggest that the patrons were members of
the ducal family, proclaiming their social status by
connecting themselves to the grandeur of Rome.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC