Church of Santa Pudenziana with a stone bell tower, a portico with columns, and a tiled roof. In the background, a sky partially covered with clouds and trees.
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Church of Santa Pudenziana

The history

Located in the countryside near Visciano, in the municipality of Narni, the Church of Santa Pudenziana is an original testimony of Romanesque architecture in southern Umbria.

It is presumed to have been built between 998 and 1036, although there are no sources to confirm this.

Originally dedicated to Santa Maria in Visciano and listed among the assets of the Chapter of the Church of San Giovenale, in the Bull of Honorius II of 1129, it was later dedicated to the Roman martyr Santa Pudenziana, sister of Santa Prassede. It is believed that Prassede and Pudenziana were the daughters of a certain Pudente, owner of brick kilns in the Narni area, as fragments found nearby, bearing his name, seem to demonstrate.

Over the centuries, the church experienced periods of abandonment and various managements, until it was auctioned by the state for sale to private individuals. Thanks to the intervention of Marquis Giovanni Eroli, royal inspector of excavations and ancient monuments, who blocked the alienation, the church became the property of the Municipality of Narni. Eroli describes the building in detail in his book “Chiese di Narni e suoi dintorni”, a text from 1898, also interesting for the sarcastic description of how the affair was managed.

The exterior

The structure is characterized by the portico and the bell tower. The former is decorated with columns and capitals recovered from Roman and early Christian constructions in the surrounding area. The high bell tower, towering over the church, was erected on the remains of an ancient watchtower dating back three centuries earlier. This, along with the towers of the Castle of Bufone and the Castle of Borgaria, was probably part of a defensive system of the Byzantine Corridor.

The gabled facade of the church features two small windows that illuminate the side aisles and a small central window located at the center of the tympanum; on the right side, a plaque with the perpetual calendar, indicating the day when Easter, or pesach in Hebrew, would arrive, a term that appears at the base of the inscription.

At the top, the apse houses a window shaped like a Maltese cross and two small windows, while at the base of the structure are three small windows that illuminate the crypt.

Travertine altar, surmounted by a ciborium with columns and a four-sided roof. The walls of the building are decorated with religious frescoes depicting sacred figures, visible on the sides of the altar and surrounding walls.

Altar

Fresco inside the Church of Santa Pudenziana depicting the Madonna and Child. The Madonna is shown seated, with the Child Jesus on her lap holding a scroll of parchment.

Fresco of the Madonna and Child

Underground crypt of the Church of Santa Pudenziana with ribbed vaults supported by travertine columns.

Underground Crypt

The interior

The three-nave church is rich in heterogeneous elements. Stones, mosaics, travertine, bricks, ancient marbles of various shapes and colors characterize the floor, walls, and columns. The latter support round arches that divide the naves. The capitals, carved in stone, feature essential lines and lack typical characteristics of any classical order.

On the walls and pillars, some frescoes, created between the 13th and 15th centuries, are visible: noteworthy is the one dedicated to the martyr Santa Pudenziana.

From the central nave, some steps lead to the raised presbytery that preserves the original altars; the central one in travertine is surmounted by an intact ciborium with a pyramidal dome. Along the walls of the presbytery runs a stone solea (bench) that served as seating for the monks during services. In the center, a stone chair adorned with two lion heads at the top of the sides. The floor of the apse, similar to that of the naves, includes sepulchral inscriptions suggesting a recovery from Roman villas or temples in the area.

On both sides of the altar, access is gained to the underground crypt, where two columns support a low and dimly lit vault.

Information:

Public opening hours vary across different seasons. For any information, please consult the website of the Santa Pudenziana Art and Culture Association.

Explore the surroundings
Main attractions in the vicinity