Discovering ‘The Center of the World,’ Foligno – March 26th, 2022
Surprised to know that “the center of the world” is in Umbria? Or so the Romans perceived their ancient Fulginium (modern-day Foligno).
Too often visitors sideline exploration of this Umbrian town, missing countless “hidden treasures.” Brutal allied bombings in 1943 and 1944 destroyed countless medieval, Renaissance and Baroque buildings resulting in a modern fabric of the town today.
Gratefully, a Foligno treasure, the first printed edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy, survived.
Medieval and Renaissance artistic masterpieces, too, tucked away in the winding backstreets escaped devastation. We’ll discover them together while exploring an ancient 11th-century church and a 15th-century frescoed noble palace. In a medieval convent, a very learned Franciscan sister will open many doors for us to intricate frescoes, ancient ceramics (recently discovered) and curious 14th-century graffiti messages.
I’ll show you an added surprise: an astounding mammoth contemporary sculpture housed in a de-consecrated church.
The pride of the folignati for their town explodes in the Baroque festival la Quintana in June and September.
Foligno might not be “the center of the world” but it is most certainly a center of culture, of history, of artistic wonders not to miss.
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