The mortification of the body as atonement for sins: Perugia, 1260

Umbria, a land of mysticism and spirituality, has been the cradle of religious movements that have profoundly shaped European history. In July 1260, in Perugia, the hermit friar Raniero Fasani, who came from a noble local family and later joined the Franciscan order, obtained official approval from the municipality for a penitential movement that had spontaneously arisen among the people.
This group, made up of both laypeople and religious figures, practiced public flagellation as a form of collective atonement for sins. The participants, known as “battuti” (the beaten ones), would strike their backs with a scourge—a whip made of rope or leather, sometimes woven with metal pellets or glass shards—while chanting prayers and laude (devotional hymns). Although the practice was already common among monks and hermits, it was Fasani who transformed it into a community phenomenon after reportedly receiving a vision of the Virgin Mary and Blessed Bevignate, a figure popularly venerated as a saint in Perugia.

The processions of the Flagellants quickly spread from Umbria across Europe, even influencing the birth of sacred theatre: their laude, initially simple devotional chants, evolved into dramatic multi-voice performances, paving the way for medieval religious plays.

Ancient Iconographic Testimonies of the Flagellants

A remarkable fresco, located in the emblematic Templar Church of San Bevignate in Perugia, bears witness to this movement. On the right-hand wall of the apse, in a naive and popular style, the lower section of the Last Judgement scene depicts a procession of men, bare-chester, striking themselves with scourges and beating their chests with one hand. According to local tradition, the bearded man leading the procession is believed to be Raniero Fasani himself. The frescoes were likely painted between 1260 and 1270, almost contemporaneously with the emergence of the penitential movement.

A Divine Sign, a Procession Through the Streets of Europe: The White Penitents, 1399-1400

More than a century later, in the mystical heart of Umbria, among its medieval villages and ancient sanctuaries, one of the most intense and emotionally charged religious events of the 15th century took place: the procession of the White Penitents. This penitential movement, emerged in response to the great calamities of the time—wars, plagues, and famines—reached its peak during the Jubilee of 1400, proclaimed by Pope Boniface IX to renew the faith and bring hope to the people.

Legend has it that the origin of this procession is linked to an apparition of the Virgin and Christ to a humble farmer in an unspecified location in Europe, who received a divine message that inspired the pilgrimage (the so-called “miracle of the three loaves”). The name “White Penitents” derives from the long white tunics worn by the participants, symbolising purity and repentance.
The movement originated in March 1399, perhaps in Piedmont, in Chieri, or possibly in Genoa (sources vary), but it found fertile ground in Umbria, a land of deep spirituality and religious fervor. A second foundational miracle is said to have occurred in Umbria, in Assisi, where, following the passage of the procession, the Virgin reportedly appeared to a child, urging the entire population to join the ritual. The White Penitents – men, women, and children of all social backgrounds – would walk barefoot through towns and countryside, chanting "Peace and mercy," sometimes even engaging in self-flagellation as a sign of atonement. Once again, laypeople and bodily mortification carried on the tradition initiated by Raniero Fasani centuries earlier.

Umbria and the Jubilee of 1400

Umbria, the land of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, became a major destination for pilgrims during the Jubilee of 1400. During the Holy Year, the White Procession passed through towns and villages of the region, in processions that often began in rural areas and converged on major centres of worship, often heading to Rome.

Umbrian Itineraries and Stops of the White Penitents’ Procession

The route of the White Penitents in Umbria followed paths connected to the most important religious sites, leaving traces in the region’s collective memory and in monuments still standing today.
In Gubbio, the procession wound through the medieval streets, stopping at the cathedral and the oratory of the Confraternity of Santa Maria della Misericordia, also known as the Confraternity of the White Penitents. From Lake Trasimeno, the procession reached Perugia, where the penitents gathered in Piazza Grande and then moved towards the cathedral of San Lorenzo. Assisi welcomed them at the basilica of Saint Francis and then at that of Saint Clare. After the apparition of the Virgin to a child near an olive grove, which according to tradition took place on July 2, 1399, the Church of Madonna dell'Oliva and the Church of San Giuseppe were built. An exceptional visual record of the Miracle of the Olive Tree is the beautiful fresco now preserved in the Museo dell’Opera of Orvieto, originally from the Church of Santa Maria dei Servi. In Foligno, a key stop along the Via Flaminia, the White Penitents gathered at the cathedral of San Feliciano and in other historic churches. In Todi, Piazza del Popolo was filled with the faithful heading to the church of San Fortunato and the Cathedral of the Annunziata. In mid-September, the penitents arrived in Spoleto. Local chronicles report that their passage inspired the construction of a small church in Piazza del Duomo dedicated to the Madonna della Misericordia, later replaced by the church of Santa Maria della Manna d'Oro. In Orvieto, the majestic cathedral, the symbol of the town, was one of the main stops of the procession. The penitents paused in prayer in the squares and along the medieval streets. In Vallo di Nera, inside the 13th-century Franciscan Church of Santa Maria Assunta, there is a precious fresco providing an exceptional historical account: the “Procession of the White Penitents”, dated 1401 and signed by Cola di Pietro da Camerino. The painting portrays the confraternity of the Whites in two processions, received by the Franciscans. The procession also passed through Terni, where moments of reflection were held in the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. In the Church of Madonna del Monumento, near the city's cemetery, a remarkable fresco on the right wall commemorates the passage of the White Penitents through the city. In a series of panels, it depicts the so-called “miracle of the three loaves” that gave rise to the movement, the apparition of the Madonna dell'Oliva in Assisi, and the procession of the White Penitents through the streets of Umbria. One striking scene shows an angel embracing two young people - a symbol of peace and harmony.