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Abbey of San Felice - Giano dell’Umbria

Located on a natural terrace on the slopes of the Martani Mountains, a few kilometers from Giano dell'Umbria, the imposing abbey complex of San Felice was born to house the remains of the saint on the site of a primitive early Christian church in which Roman finds belonging to the disappeared "Città Martana". Its appearance is characterized by massive buildings arranged on the sides of the abbey church. The church, (around 1130) is a typical expression of the Spoleto Romanesque. The architectural scheme faithfully follows the prototype of San Gregorio Maggiore di Spoleto (1079-1146) and is united with a series of churches scattered throughout the valley. The architectural structure is closely linked to a period of great renewal and evolution, which is expressed in an exceptional church building activity, well configured in Spoleto and its immediate vicinity, where the same basilical plant can be found in the contemporary churches of S. Gregorio Maggiore , S. Ponziano, S. Giuliano sul Monteluco, S. Sabino, S. Brizio and S. Pietro di Bovara. However, San Felice is distinguished from these by a greater and more accentuated monumental solemnity, underlined, above all, by the presence of the vaults in place of the trusses. Monumentality today noticeable above all inside, given the serious alterations of the facade and the apsidal part, implemented from 1516 onwards.