The city of Foligno, called Lu centru de lu munnu because it is located in the center of Umbria and Italy, has been for years the hinge between the north and south of the Peninsula and between the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic Sea, both for trade and manufacturing. Even its oval shape, surrounded by walls, has made it compared to a navel, further supporting its centrality in the world.

First Umbrian then Roman, it owes its name to the cult of the goddess Fulginia. Here – to be precise in the current Piazza della Repubblica – Saint Francis began his evangelical journey by selling fabrics and his horse to repair the church of San Damiano and then, in 1224, again in Foligno, he had a dream predicting his death and finished the Canticle of the Creatures. Foligno is also famous because, in 1472, it gave birth to the first copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy: it was printed by the Maguno typographer Giovanni Numeister together with Evangelista Angelini di Trevi and with the collaboration of the Foligno mintmaster Emiliano Orfini.

Foligno is a noble city that shows its grandeur with its numerous noble palaces, witnesses to a wealth that has never faded. Its pulsating and lively heart is Piazza della Repubblica, where the main religious and cultural buildings overlook, as well as many ancient palaces such as Palazzo Trinci (built between the 14th and 15th centuries), which is home to the City Museum and houses a cycle of frescoes attributed to Gentile da Fabriano; Palazzo del Comune – dominated by the small tower rebuilt after the collapse in the 1997 earthquake – boasts frescoes by Mariano Piervittori and valuable paintings; Palazzo Orfini, connected to the surrounding buildings by an overpass (it was home to the Foligno printing house) today houses the Printing Museum, the place where the first copy of the Divine Comedy was printed. Then there is the Palazzetto del Podestà, characterized by the elegant loggia built in the 13th century and certainly renovated by the Trinci family, whose name is shown in a tapestry painted on the outside.

Also not to be missed are Palazzo Candiotti, home of the Ente Giostra della Quintana, Palazzo Alleori – Ubaldi, Palazzo Monaldi– Barnabò, Palazzo Gherardi, Palazzo Jacobilli – Carrara and Palazzo Deli.

There are also numerous places of worship that symbolize its spiritual soul. The most important is the Cathedral of San Feliciano, dedicated to the martyr bishop, its main facade ideally facing Rome, while the smaller one overlooks the platea vetus, the current Piazza della Repubblica. We then find the Oratory of the Crucifix with the Auditorium San Domenico next to it; the Church of Santa Maria Infraportas (the oldest in the city) stands where there once was an 8th century chapel dedicated to the Assumption, to Saint Peter and to Saint Paul and the Oratory of the Nunziatella which houses a fresco by Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino. Also worthy of note is the Church of San Francesco – Sanctuary of Santa Angela da Foligno, built in the 13th century in neoclassical style, where the body of Saint Angela (1248-1309) is located and a canvas by Gaetano Gandolfi with the representation of the blessed. An eye should also be turned to the modern Church of San Paolo Apostolo known as the Fuksas Cube and built in 2009 by Massimiliano Fuksas and Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas.
The Cosmic Magnet (work by Gino De Dominicis,) inside the Church of the Santissima Trinità in Annunziata, the Contemporary Art Center, the Archaeological Museum and the Diocesan Museum (in the Palazzo delle Canoniche near the Cathedral of San Feliciano) enrich and complete the cultural offering of a city with a vast artistic heritage, all to be admired.

When talking about Foligno, one cannot fail to mention the Giostra della Quintana: in June and September, the ten districts challenge each other in a scorching equestrian joust to win the Palio: the city dives into the Baroque past with taverns, the majestic Historical Procession and events such as the Festival Segni Barocchi. A new immersive museum is also dedicated to the Giostra. There are many other events not to be missed, above all: the Primi d’Italia, a festival entirely dedicated to Pasta, and the Festa di Scienza e di Filosofia.

Even the nature that surrounds it offers unique landscapes such as the magic of Rasiglia, with the strength of its waters; the Valle del Menotre, with the liveliness of the stream and waterfalls; the grandeur of the Abbey of Sassovivo; the spirituality of the Hermitage of Pale and the tranquility of the Colfiorito Park, with its marsh and migratory birds. I recommend, do not forget to taste the Rocciata, the typical dessert of Foligno.

Translation made by an automatic tool