Cloister of the Monteripido Convent, with brick arches, columns and potted plants on a terracotta floor.
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The Convent and Church of San Francesco di Monteripido

Nestled in nature on a hill overlooking most of the city of Perugia, the complex of San Francesco al Monte is an oasis of beauty and Franciscan spirituality.

The settlement is linked to the figure of Blessed Giles (1190-1262), the third companion of Francis: “Scalzasi Egidio, scalzasi Silvestro/ dietro a lo sposo, sì la sposa piace” (Dante, Paradiso, Canto XI, 83-84). Giles was from Assisi, illiterate but endowed with the popular wisdom perfectly expressed in the “Dicta”, the advice or sayings collected after his death. In 1229, he arrived in this rugged and wooded area with other friars. He received land as a gift from Giacomo di Bonconte Coppoli, on which an oratory, a house, and other service facilities were built. In 1379, the site was granted to the reformed friars of Blessed Paoluccio Trinci, and from then on, it became a crucial centre of Franciscan spirituality. Among those who stayed here were the preacher Giacomo della Marca, the jurist and preacher Friar Giovanni da Capestrano, Saint Bernardino of Siena—who established the Studium generale of the order here in 1440—and Friar Barnaba Manassei da Terni, the founder of the Monti di Pietà. Following the Napoleonic suppressions (1810) and those after the formation of the Kingdom of Italy (1860), the church and convent were repurposed for military and private use.

In 1874, the friars, disguised in civilian clothes, repurchased the complex at auction, and it was once again inhabited by a Franciscan community.

Today, the ancient convent houses the Casa di Accoglienza di Monteripido (Monteripido Hospitality House), managed by the Friars Minor, with a hotel, a residence for university students, conference rooms, and spaces for spiritual retreats. Walking up the steep climb adorned with eleven niches of the Via Crucis, built between 1633 and 1636 and now housing the terracotta bas-reliefs by Perugian artist Fortunato Vatti, visitors can explore the church, the Oratory of Blessed Giles, the cloisters, the splendid 18th-century library, and the “Diego Donati” art gallery, which displays over 200 graphic works by this Franciscan engraver.

The church

The current church dates back to 1858. Incorporated into the left side of the sacred building is the Oratory of the Immaculate Virgin, designed by Perugian architect Orazio Alessi in the 16th century. Of the late Gothic building, which was the result of restorations of the medieval structure around 1448, only the beautiful apse, the choir, the sacristy, the Chapel of Saint Francis, part of the Chapel of the Immaculate, and the Chapel of San Pasquale—currently inaccessible—remain. Over time, the conventual church became a true treasure trove of artwork. Among the pieces once kept here were the Monteripido Opistograph Altarpiece by Pietro Perugino and the fresco by Lo Spagna depicting Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, both now housed at the National Gallery of Umbria

A stone and brick staircase with a side wall, bordered by a stone wall and trees, leads to a convent in the background.
A steep stone and brick staircase, flanked by walls and trees, leads to a convent in the background under a clear sky.
A cloister with a brick portico, a well-kept garden with yellow flowers, and a tree in the centre, in a serene and historical atmosphere.
A massive stone structure with fortified walls, surrounded by trees and a lower wall along a paved road.
A marble plaque with a Dantean inscription embedded in a stone and brick wall, featuring a quote from Paradiso.
A brick staircase framed by historic walls, offering a panoramic view of trees, buildings, and hills under a clear sky.
A historic library with intricately carved wooden shelves, a frescoed ceiling, a central table, and large windows with golden curtains.
A historic library with intricately carved wooden shelves, ancient books, a frescoed ceiling, and large windows with golden curtains.

It houses a beautiful wooden choir from the Oratory of the Disciplinati of San Domenico, the evocative 15th-century Crucifix (which the friars saved from Napoleonic raids by disguising it with rags and clothing), a late 16th-century organ crafted by Cesare Romani da Cortona (1544-1616), 16th-century frescoes, and paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. On the right wall, Gerardo Dottori’s triptych The Death-Transit of Saint Francis Before the Porziuncola, created in 1923 and donated to the convent by the Futurist artist in 1971, stands out.

Next to the church is the 15th-century cloister known as Cloister of San Bernardino. Crossing this and the next one, visitors reach the Oratory of Blessed Giles, where he lived for more than thirty years and where he died on the night of April 23, 1262. Above the altar is a deteriorated fresco dated 1436, depicting Christ crucified between Mary, Saint John the Apostle, Saint Francis, and Blessed Giles. Beneath the same altar, some relics of Blessed Giles’ body are preserved in a gilded wooden urn. (Gileswas buried at San Francesco al Prato inside a classical-era sarcophagus, the discovery of which he had foretold).

The library

For the needs of the Studium, a valuable book collection was gradually built up in the convent. To properly house it, the construction of a library was decided. The project was entrusted to Perugian architect Pietro Carattoli, and on April 23, 1754, the first stone was laid. The work was completed in 1769, and ten years later, the wooden furnishings designed by Carattoli, adorned with gilded cartouches, were finished. The ceiling was entirely decorated by painter Paolo Brizi da Fano (1702-1793). Over time, the original book collection was enriched through bequests and donations and is now largely preserved at the Biblioteca Augusta, catalogued and stamped with its ancient name (Bibliotheca Montis Perusiae). Today, the Monteripido Library holds over 20,000 volumes, including precious 16th-century books and ancient manuscripts from the 18th and 19th centuries.

“Diego Donati” Gallery

On the ground floor of one wing of the convent, with an independent entrance, is the “Diego Donati” Gallery, which faithfully reproduces the workshop of the engraver friar. It preserves the presses and other tools used for printmaking and plate etching. Additionally, over 200 of the artist’s works are on display, including woodcuts, etchings, and aquatints. The permanent exhibition solidifies Father Donati’s status as a true master in this artistic practice.

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Main attractions in the vicinity