Foligno Cathedral

The cathedral, built on the site of an earlier basilica, is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, the martyr Felician of Foligno (San Feliciano), who was buried here in 251 AD.

It shows Christ enthroned between Saints Felician and Messalina, with Pope Leo XIII, who had commissioned the mosaic, praying on his knees.

[citation needed] The two stone griffins underneath were sculpted to commemorate the victory of Foligno over Perugia.

The carved wooden door is surrounded by five Romanesque arches decorated with bas-reliefs, representing Frederick Barbarossa and Pope Innocent III.

The innermost arch is decorated with the signs of the zodiac, the stars, the sun, the moon, the hours and the attributes of the Four Evangelists.

The present appearance of the cathedral is attributable to the reconstruction by architect Giuseppe Piermarini (1734–1808) who removed earlier alterations.

Vespasiano Strada and Baldassare Croce painted in this chapel two large frescoes depicting the life of San Feliciano.

[citation needed] Among the other works of art are a Crucifixion, painted on wood by Niccolò Alunno and two busts of Roscioli spouses by the great Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The gilded Baroque baldachin over the main altar, built in the 18th century by Antonio Calcioni for the benefit of the family Salvi Roscioli, is a faithful reproduction of Bernini's baldacchino in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

This modern addition was commissioned by Giuseppe Betori, Cardinal of Florence, as a gift to replace an earlier version destroyed during the Second World War.