Viterbo. Church of Sant' Andrea Apostolo (St Andrew Apostle)

The church of Sant' Andrea Apostolo (St Andrew Apostle) is located in the medieval district of Pianoscarano in Viterbo.

It dates back to 1148 when the municipality received land from the Abbey of Farfa to enlarge the city and build a church.

Over the centuries the church has had changes such as those following the collapse of the crypt in 1564.

From what appears it seems that the crypt was adder to the church later to turn it into a cemetery.

In fact its appearance is late medieval Gothic, and this could be one of the reasons for the collapse.

Another important architectural intervention was in 1902 when an attempt was made to restore the ancient Romanesque aspect of the church.

The facade of the church appears to be covered by a massive masonry portico with three small entrance arches and is characterized by a bell tower with two bells.

The interior has a single nave in simple stone without frescoes and this situation highlights the light that penetrates through the openings such as those in the apses.

The altar area is raised, a sign of the presence of monks, and is accessed via a staircase that occupies the entire church.

Some portions of the original frescoes can be admired in the left wall with "San Lorenzo and Santo Stefano" and in the underlying crypt, these date back to 1270 and are attributed to Ranuccetto da Viterbo.

The last restoration of the church took place after the bombings of the Second World War.


Written by:
Benedicta Lee

Born in Rome from an Italian mother and American father, she works as a freelance communications manager and designer in the tourism sector, a career and interest which she is pursuing with a...

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