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Church of St Lawrence: A Romanesque Building with the Crypt of the Heavenly Jerusalem
The Church of San Lorenzo is located in the centre of Acquapendente, in Piazza Girolamo Fabrizio. This Romanesque building dates back to the 12th century, constructed on a site that already housed an early Christian church in the Early Middle Ages. The façade is simple, built in local stone, with a round-arched portal and a central rose window remade in the 16th century. The bell tower was built at the same time as the church, featuring twin-light and single-light windows that lighten the structure.
The Crypt of the Heavenly Jerusalem
Beneath the presbytery lies a 10th-century crypt, among the oldest in Lazio. The space is divided into three naves by columns with early medieval capitals, each one different: some decorated with acanthus leaves, others with geometric motifs. At the centre stands a small octagonal stone aedicule housing relics of the Holy Sepulchre, brought from Jerusalem, according to tradition, in 964. This is why the crypt is called the Heavenly Jerusalem, a symbolic replica of Christ's tomb.
The Frescoes and the Cult
The walls of the crypt preserve 12th-13th century frescoes depicting saints and biblical scenes, although damp has damaged it considerably. The high altar of the upper church is Baroque, from the 17th century, in polychrome marble. Every year, on the night between May 17 and 18, the Festa dei Pugnaloni is celebrated, in honour of the Madonna del Fiore (Our Lady of the Flower), patron saint of Acquapendente, with a procession starting from San Lorenzo itself.
