Bevagna is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river.
Bevagna is south-east of Perugia, west of Foligno, north-north-west of Montefalco, south of Assisi and north-west of Trevi.
Bevagna is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
History Antiquity Bevagna, known in antiquity as Mevania, was an important Umbrian city on the Via Flaminia, between Carsulae and Fulginium. The ancient settlement lay on the bank of the river in an open and fertile valley stretching from the vicinity of Spoleto to the Tiber, separating the main Apennine chain from the ranges that extend toward Todi and Amelia. Classical authors including Columella, Silius Italicus and Lucan refer to the fertility of this region.
Before the Roman conquest, Mevania was a significant centre; in 308 BC Umbrian forces were stationed here when the consul Fabius advanced against them. In the Roman imperial period the city continued to flourish: Strabo mentions it among the strongest Umbrian cities, and Pliny records that it was enclosed by brick walls. The Antonine Itinerary and the Itinerary of Vicarello list Mevania as a mansio (station) on the Via Flaminia. Pliny also notes that the territory, the Mevanias ager, produced a particular prized wine called Irtia. Inscriptions indicate that the city belonged to the tribus Aemilia and that its municipal magistracies included quattuorviri.
The Clitunno was regarded as a major feature of the ancient city: it is described as extremely abundant in water and navigable with boats in two tiers. Near the confluence of the Topino with the Clitunno there was a kind of harbor, also mentioned in the Acts of Saint Vincent the Martyr, the patron of Bevagna, in connection with his attempted drowning at the harbour of Mevania.
Middle Ages In the 6th century the city suffered serious damage during barbarian incursions.
After the 11th century Bevagna became a free municipality with a self-governing system headed by consuls. In 1249 Pope Innocent IV granted the community the right to choose its chief magistrate. In November of the same year, in the context of Frederick II's claim to the Duchy of Spoleto, Bevagna was besieged by the imperial vicar Thomas I of Aquino, Count of Acerra, and the city was badly damaged.
The city later rose again through the efforts attributed to the Blessed Giacomo of Bevagna, who rallied the dispersed inhabitants and encouraged the rebuilding of the walls on a more modest scale, sufficient to protect the families who had returned.
Between 1371 and 1439 Bevagna was under the lordship of the Trinci family of Foligno. In 1439 Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi returned the territory to the direct rule of the Holy See.
Early Modern period From 1503 to 1519 Bevagna was under the government of Perugia, and in 1519 governance passed to a succession of lifetime governors appointed directly by the Holy See.
From 1562 to 1566 Bevagna was under the authority of the governor of Spoleto, Cardinal Charles Borromeo. In 1567 Pope Pius V placed it under the immediate authority of the Holy See and appointed Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici as lifetime governor.
Contemporary era On 10 May 1798, under the territorial-division law of the Roman Republic, Bevagna was assigned to the Canton of Spello in the . In early August 1799 Neapolitan troops ended the republic. On 8 August 1799 Liberato Giorgi was named governor.
During the period of the French Empire, Bevagna was assigned to the district of Foligno in the Department of Trasimeno. On 14 May 1814 the Papal government was restored, with Liberato Giorgi, Filippo Angeli Nieri, and Cortese Bartoli acting as provisional regents, while Sandro Oleandri, a lawyer, served as provisional governor.
In 1825 Pope Leo XII granted Bevagna the title of city. The town was damaged by earthquakes in 1832.
In the mid-19th century the town had 4,024 inhabitants. Of these, 2,087 lived within the built-up area and 1,937 in the rural district. In 1860 Bevagna joined the Kingdom of Italy, within the Province of Umbria.
Geography
Bevagna lies in the western part of the on a plain at above sea level, with hills to the west. The territory is described as well cultivated, and agriculture benefits from the waters of the Timia, increased by those of the Attone stream. In the northern plain there is a small lake called the Cantone; because of its depth it is also known as the Abisso.
Bevagna is located near the confluence of the Maroggia with the Topino, from which it is less than . The Clitunno runs close to the town's ancient walls. The town is on flat ground, and lies southwest of Foligno at a distance of .
Its territory includes a wooded area called il Monte and hills overlooking the Umbrian Valley.
Subdivisions The municipality includes the localities of Bevagna, Campofondo, Cantalupo, Castelbuono, Gaglioli, Limigiano, Madonna della Pia, Torre del Colle.
In 2021, 1,606 people lived in rural dispersed dwellings not assigned to any named locality. At the time, most of the population lived in Bevagna proper (2,651).
Economy In the 19th century the territory of Bevagna was said to produce abundant cereals and vines, yielding a wine described as renowned, while the hills were noted for flourishing olive groves. Flax was widely sown, and hemp was also cultivated. Hemp cloth was reportedly a major local manufacture, though it had already declined by the late 19th century. Bevagna formerly had considerable trade in table linen. Bevagna also had a printing establishment in the 17th century.
Religion San Michele Arcangelo
The church of San Michele Arcangelo was the city's first cathedral and later became a collegiate church, which was abolished by Frederick II in 1248 and restored only in 1620 at the will of Pope Paul V.
Over the centuries the building underwent numerous alterations. In the 15th century its roof was restored, and in the 17th century both the interior and the façade were adapted to Baroque taste. During that phase a new rose window was opened by demolishing the original and part of the corbel table with its small arches; the interiors of both the church and the crypt were entirely covered with stuccoes and with vaulting in camorcanna. The bell tower, built at the end of the 12th century, was modified in its upper part using reused elements from the preceding bell tower. Between 1951 and 1957 the church was returned to its earlier forms through the removal of Baroque interventions and the reconstruction of missing parts.
Its current layout is basilican, with a raised presbytery and aisles separated by columns carrying transverse arches with recessed archivolts, resting on capitals that were abraded during the Baroque works. The façade, dated to the first years of the 13th century, is built of small travertine blocks. Three portals open at ground level, with the central portal richly decorated; above, the façade is divided into five parts by four shaped lesenes, the two on the right continuing into the bell tower. Between the lesenes are three triple-light windows, and above them runs a band of blind arches resting on corbels carved as human and animal heads. Four projecting protomes emerge from the lesenes, two animal and one in the form of a crowned male head.
The central portal reuses Roman moldings, partly reworked, as jambs. At the springing of the arch are sculpted figures including, on the left, the winged bust of Saint Michael with a spear in one hand and an open book in the other, with a dragon attempting to bite the spear; beneath is an inscription stating that Rodulfus and Binellus made these works. On the other side is an angel holding a processional cross and a scroll. The crypt is composed of twelve bays defined by six slender columns.
In the crypt there are two 14th-century frescoes. In the sacristy there is an oil painting of the Last Supper, a Venetian-school work dated 1590.
San Silvestro
The church of San Silvestro was built in the Romanesque style. Its façade is incomplete and is thought to have been intended as a two-story composition, possibly crowned by a bell tower like that of San Michele on the opposite side of the square. A plaque dated 1195 on the right side of the façade commemorates maestro Binello as architect of the church.
Below a horizontal cornice carved with reliefs including hunting scenes, dragons, and human and animal protomes, three windows open: a central triple-light window and two flanking double-light windows. The triple-light window is supported by paired reused marble columns and is richly decorated with vegetal motifs; the double-light windows stand on twisted colonnettes whose bases are made from inverted capitals. At ground level, the recessed portal is decorated with vine scrolls and animals in combat.
The interior is austere but also monumental, with three naves carried on stocky columns. The lateral aisles have semi-barrel vaulting, noted as a rare feature in Umbrian religious buildings. At the end of the central nave, the presbytery is markedly raised above the crypt, which is a single hall with two columns supporting ribbed groin vaults.
San Francesco In the Church of San Francesco, in the penultimate chapel on the right, there is a Crucifix between two angels and Saint Francis, attributed here to the Assisi painter Dono Doni. The last chapel was designed by the Perugian architect Alessi; its vault has terracotta bas-reliefs, and on the altar there is a depiction of Mary with Jesus in a manner imitating the Byzantine style.
To the left of the apse is a painting of the Virgin with Jesus crowning a young girl of the Ciccoli family, possibly by Dono Doni. In the sacristy there remains part of a 14th-century tempera panel with God blessing, and further remains of 14th-century frescoes are noted in an ancient chapel.
The legendary account of Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds is said to have taken place in a field outside Bevagna. The stone on which he allegedly stood when preaching to the birds is now in the Ciccoli Chapel of the Church of San Francesco.Key to Umbria: Bevagna: San Francesco, retrieved 4 December 2019.
Santissima Annunziata The Church of the Santissima Annunziata stands a short distance from Bevagna on the road to Cannara and formerly belonged to the abbey of Sassovivo. In 1487 it was given to the Observant Friars Minor. Inside is a major 16th-century terracotta work in the form of a large altar, representing the Nativity of Mary, the Presentation at the Temple, the Marriage, the announcing Angel, and the Dream of Saint Joseph. A painting of Saint Sebastian is attributed to Camassei.
Church of Beato Giacomo The Church of Beato Giacomo has a main doorway dating from the 14th century. In the semicircular upper lunette there is a Sienese-school fresco of Mary with the Child, Angels, and Saints. Inside, on the left, is the tomb of the Blessed Giacomo Bianconi, who died in 1301. In the chapel on the right is a 13th-century wooden carved crucifix; on the left is a wooden sculpture of the Madonna and Child, also of the 13th century.
Other religious buildings The Church of Santa Lucia has, on the high altar, an altarpiece representing Saint Lucia, attributed to the school of Pietro Berrettini.
In the sacristy of the Church of San Filippo there is an oil painting by Andrea Camassei depicting Saint Philip and Saint Charles Borromeo.
The Church of Santa Maria del Monte has a high altar decorated with a rich bronze antependium with ornaments and figures, described as a 17th-century work.
The Church of Santa Margherita has, at the high altar, an oil painting of the Martyrdom of the church's titular saint, and an oil painting of the Conception placed on the door of the sacristy; both works are attributed to Camassei.
Other churches include: Church of Sant'Agostino (1316). Church of San Nicolò.