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The Church of San Biagio Fuori le Mura: where the Cantalupo melon was born
In Cantalupo in Sabina, the Church of St Blaise Outside the Walls is not just a 17th-century building. Together with the adjoining Carmelite Convent, it is the place that gave its name to the famous Cantalupo melon. It was the friars themselves who first cultivated the fruit, imported from Asia, giving it the appearance and flavour we know today.
Architecture and history
The church’s architecture is imposing. The façade, with its large paired pilasters in the Doric style, still bears the coat of arms of the Cesi family, who financed its renovation. For centuries it was the heart of monastic life, but its use changed over time. The Camuccini family, the last historic owners, sold the complex in 1982. Today it is privately owned.
The interior of the church
The interior consists of a single, broad nave covered by a barrel vault - a large curved ceiling. Along the walls are six chapels, three on each side. They once housed altars and precious 17th-century canvases, but the works were removed after the sale, and are no longer here.
The church and convent complex is private property, and not open to the general public. It can only be observed from the outside, by travelling along Provincial Road 48 "Finocchieto" in the direction of Casperia.
