Temple of Minerva, page 1

Ancient Temple of Minerva The church you are visiting is called «Santa Maria above Minerva» because it is constructed upon the ancient Roman temple dedicated to Minerva, queen of wisdom and of peace in the pagan era.

The six splendid Corinthian columns and the entire façade are still intact after nearly 2025 years. The pilgrim climbs the steps to the entrance and is deeply moved. Even the lateral walls of the building are well preserved, but they are only visible from the outside.

From the year 295 BC, Assisi became part of the comune of Rome, the latter having been victorious over the Italian confederacy. In the year 88 BC, the city became a "Municipium romanum" (Roman municipality), with all the rights and regulations afforded to Rome.

During the reign of the emperor Augustus, the city of Assisi was transformed into a well organized residential and turistic centre (during the years 28-25 BC).

The grand Forum (a rectangle measuring 44 x 88 meters inside) was constructed; various temples were built, the city walls were completed, the baths and the (healing) springs of mineral waters were opened, and the theatre was constructed alongside the amphitheatre.
Among the many monuments constructed was the Temple of Minerva, which at that time dominated the Forum complex and even today, still dominates the "Piazza del Comune", the heart of Assisi and a wonderful example of medieval architecture.

Situated in the town centre, as if set on a podium, the Temple of Minerva has stood for centuries as a witness to life in Assisi during both the imperial period and the gradual decline of the Roman empire.

With the ascendance of Christianity, the temple, for a long time, a centre for pagan cultism, the temple, witnessed the heroism of the first martyrs condemned in the Tribunal courts in front of its silent columns.

Some important dates of this new era, which paved the road for Christian Assisi are as follows: In the year 313 AD, the emperors Constantine and Licinius published an edict of tolerance towards Christianity. In 341, Constantine II and Costanzo prohibited paganism and pagan celebrations in the temple, both of which were punishable by death. In 380, under the emperor Theodosius, Christianity became the state religion. In 435, Theodosius II ordered the sign of the cross to be put everywhere.

The pagan cult was brought to an end and the Temple of Minerva remained abandoned and silent for over a century, its importance destroyed, owing to the changed political and religious conditions.

The precise date is not known, but probably in the second half of the sixth century, the Benedictine monks restored the temple and made use of it. The divided the cella into two floors, creating living rooms in the upper part and the church of "San Donato" in the lower part. Even the pronao was divided into two floors. It became a comfortable and secure home!

With the act of May 24, 1212, for one hundred years, with the option of renewal, the Benedictines leased the temple to the Comune of Assisi (which was created in 1198, but only truly thrived after the peace with Perugia in 1210). However, they kept the rooms of the upper floor of the pronao as a home for themselves.

The magistrates of the Comune transferred their offices into the rooms of the upper section of the cella of the temple (from the former headquarters, located in San Rufino). On February 23, 1215, the head of the Comune began to function from its new base, and remained in the temple until 1270.

The "sigillum" of the Assisi municipality bears the image of Minerva. That is why the Magistrates certified as authentic the stone coffin of Francis who died with the image of Minerva imprinted on his signature ring.

In the spring of 1270, the head of the Comune took up office in the "Palazzo del Capitano del popolo", where he remained until 1300 when his duties came to an end.

It should be noted that in the time from 1200 to 1300 the pronao functioned as the Tribunal court and the little church of "San Donato" was used as the municipal jail at least until the beginning of the fifteenth century. One can see this when looking at the fresco by Giotto (which depicts windows with strong iron grillwork, etc.), which forms part of the pictoral history of Saint Francis located in the upper part of the Basilica.

In 1456, when no longer a jail, the church of "San Donato" was reopened. In the meantime, the Italian Renaissance culture had been growing and was a culture that celebrated the world’s classical arts (Greco-roman literature, sculpture, architecture, etc.).

In the years 1527-1530, the magistrates of Assisi, following requests and complaints by the citizens, ordered some urgent restoration projects to be undertaken. In 1539, Pope Paolo III, making a visit to Assisi, ordered the Temple of Minerva to be completely restored and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, queen of true wisdom. The temple then took the name of "Santa Maria sopra Minerva".

Therefore, there is an interesting continuity between the dedication of the Temple of Minerva, "the goddess of pagan wisdom" and the dedication to the Virgin Mary, "the queen of Christian wisdom".

With the document dated April 5, 1613, the bishop of Assisi, Marcello Crescenzi, with the consent of the municipality, donated the temple to the Friars of the Third Regular Order of St. Francis to ensure a better liturgical service. The friars took possession of the temple on April 15, 1613 and remained there uninterrupted for 145 years.

In 1634, the friars undertook great projects of restructuring the space, under the direction of the Assisan architect, Giacomo Giorgetti.

He eliminated the rooms in the upper part of the cella of the temple, ordered the construction of a barrel vault, elongated the area of the cella beyond the support wall (5.45 meters) and designed the main monumental altar.

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