This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Church of St Peter in Leonessa: a 15th-century portal with putti and a medieval crypt
The Church of San Pietro (St Peter’s) dominates Piazza del Municipio in Leonessa (province of Rieti), with its Gothic bell tower featuring an octagonal spire. The façade is crafted from local pink stone, a hallmark of nearly all churches in the historic centre. The portal bears the date 1467, carved in Gothic script. This refers to a significant renovation of the building rather than the church's founding. Managed by the Augustinians who settled in Leonessa in the 13th century, the complex still retains the 15th-century convent and its loggia on the left side.
Inside the church
The single nave is the result of the 1703 earthquake, which destroyed the original three-aisle layout. The high altar showcases the Altarpiece of the Assumption by Jacopo Siculo (1543): an oil-on-panel masterpiece nearly five metres high, depicting the Virgin among clouds and festive angels. Also noteworthy is Giovanni Lanfranco’s canvas of the Madonna with Saints Charles, Catherine, and Augustine. At the center of the nave, a staircase leads down to the medieval crypt, which consists of two absidal chapels, one housing a wooden copy of Michelangelo’s Pietà, and the other a polychrome terracotta Deposition by Abruzzo artist De Nino.
