Photos

Crypt of S. Isacco – Spoleto
Detail of the Last Supper

Improperly defined crypt of Sant'Ansano, in reality it is the crypt of a previous church, no longer existing, in turn built on a pre-existing one oriented in the opposite direction to the current church of Sant'Ansano, with the facade facing the forum , like the ancient temple of which it perhaps represented the continuity after the advent of Christianity.

Opinions do not agree on the origin of the church; the prevailing opinion of scholars is that it dates back to the period between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but is perhaps considerably older. The remains of Isaac were brought to the church around the year 1500 by the Lateran Canons, who abandoned the monastery of San Giuliano, now in extreme decline, and moved to the city, in the church already dedicated to the S.S. Ansano and Isaac.

It is divided into three small naves, distinguished by bare columns and covered with cross vaults; in the side walls there are some concave slits; a curvilinear apse closes the central nave which once continued on the upper floor in continuity with the apse of the church of Sant'Isacco. The entrance had been solved with a kind of internal narthex open towards the central nave with three openings, the central arched and the lateral ones with architraves. The capitals of the columns have been dated between the 8th and 9th centuries, a period to which the construction could be attributed, although it is possible that some elements are bare, belonging to a previous building, which could postpone the construction of the church to XI and XII centuries. The floor is in white marble. The altar is from 1969.

Painted decorations originally covered the entire crypt including columns and capitals. Currently the frescoes of the 11th-12th century, while maintaining bright colors, have a very fragmentary aspect which makes them hard to decipher. They were relocated in situ in 1971 after a previous detachment and restoration. They have been attributed to Spoleto workers influenced by Roman painting. The church houses the remains of Saint Isaac collected in a copy of the 11th-12th century sarcophagus; the original is kept in the national museum of the Duchy.

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