Church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio in Città della Pieve
The Church of Saints Gervasius and Protasius, which is the cathedral of Città della Pieve, is located where Piazza Gramsci and Piazza Plebiscito, the town’s central squares, meet.
The Church of Santi Gervasio e Protasio is located in the heart of the Umbrian city, which developed around a primitive parish church that once stood in this place, from which the name is derived. The parish church, dedicated to the martyr saints Gervasius and Protasius, who are still the city’s patrons today, most likely dates back to the 8th century. The building has undergone several modifications over time: it was completely renovated in the 13th century (from the Gothic construction, the hypogeal area, part of the facade, and the base of the bell tower remain), and again in the 16th century (the floor level was raised, an external staircase was built, and the apse area was rebuilt). In 1584, after the refurbishment work was completed, the church was reconsecrated; its elevation to a collegiate church and later to a cathedral in the year 1600 was followed by further works. The current Baroque-style structure, with a single nave in the shape of a Latin cross, featuring wide side chapels (three on each side) and a bell tower adjacent to the building, dates back to the period between the 16th and 17th centuries. The truss roof collapsed in 1667 and was replaced with a brick vault in 1679. In 1714, fragments of the bones of the two martyrs arrived in Città della Pieve from Milan, along with a small vial of fluid blood from Naples, traditionally attributed to the two brothers, which has been the object of great devotion by the locals. The church is rich in works of art from the 16th and 17th centuries. On the counter façade on either side of the organ are frescoes by Annibale Ubertis from the end of the 19th century, with a notable presence of Perugino. On the first altar to the left are the Baptism of Christ, painted around 1510, and the Madonna in Glory between the Patron Saints Gervasius and Protasius, from 1514, located behind the high altar.
Among the various works are the Marriage of the Virgin, by Antonio Circignani known as “Il Pomarancio”, dating back to around 1606 (but repainted in the 18th century), as well as the Madonna del Carmine (1528), in the second altar on the left, and a Heavenly Glory. In the apse, to the left is a painting of the Madonna Enthroned between Saints Francis, Bonaventure and a Servite, the work of Salvio Savini from the late 16th century, together with the Virgin Enthroned with Child, St Dominic and St Catherine of Siena, in the Rosary Chapel. In the first chapel on the right is a beautiful wooden Crucifix attributed to Giovanni Teutonico (16th century); in the second chapel is a Madonna and Child among Angels and Saints by Domenico Alfani; the third chapel has frescoes by Giacinto Boccanera dating back to the early 18th century. In the presbytery is a Madonna with Saints John the Evangelist, John the Baptist, Peter the Martyr and Blessed Giacomo Villa by Giannicola di Paolo.