Few know it, but the first Italian Sanctuary devoted to Madonna of Fatima is located in the heart of Umbria, in the wonderful Città della Pieve known for having given birth to one of the most important painters of the Italian Renaissance, Pietro Vannucci called “Perugino”. The complex of the former Church of San Francesco rises just outside Porta Perugina, at the beginning of the ancient Via Pievaiola, and preserves the most significant facade of the sec. XIII in Città della Pieve: this is the only original part left after the destruction in 1766 for the rebuilding according to the project provided by the architect Andrea Vici. The Convent, seat of the Conventual Franciscans, was radically transformed into those years and later, between 1845 and 1860. After the Second World War, the church of San Francesco was transformed into the Italian Shrine of the Madonna of Fatima.
This is a place full of history: here Bonaventura da Bagnoregio, General of the Order, convened in 1259 the General Chapter of the Franciscan Order to process Giovanni da Parma suspected of heresy; the Convent also hosted the French Pope Martino IV that was at Castel della Pieve between June and October 1284.
Inside you can admire the table of Domenico di Paride Alfani “The Virgin in Throne surrounded by St. Francis, Bartholomew, Antonio and Stefano”, first century. XVI; the painting by Antonio Circignani “The Descent of the Holy Spirit”, and the same painter, above the door of the Sacristy, the fresco “Ecce Homo”.
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