Todi

Click on any of the photo collages to see a larger version.

Todi (pop 17,000) has been here for millenia, established by Umbrian tribes around 2700 BC, then inhabited by the Etruscans followed in the 2nd century BC by the Romans.
We spent a full day here visiting three churches, the Roman underground cisterns and the town piazza bordered by the Palazzo Popolo, the Palazzo del Capitano and the Museum.
The highlight for me here was an elegant church just outside the walls of the town - Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione. It was designed in 1508 and completed about 100 years later - said to have been a potential model for St. Peter’s in Rome. It is considered by some to one of the top Renaissance architectural masterpieces, and it I can certainly see why. It’s footprint is like a Greek cross - nave and transept of equal length - so the major dome is in the center. It is one of the geometrically “perfect” architectural structures of the early Renaissance period in this part of what is now Italy. This a beautiful building both inside and out. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside. You can see a photo of the interior of this church at the following site Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione
The legend has it that the location for the church was being considered by the decision makers at an outdoor meal (picnic) when an eagle swooped down, picked up the "tablecloth" and dropped it nearby. This was seen as a sign from higher powers that the church should be located there, and so it was. This legend is preserved in sculptures of the eagle and the cloth high on the facade of the church, as shown in the first set of photos.
The second set of photos show a view from Todi and buildings around the piazza including the Palazzo Popolo with its unusual trapazoidal shaped tower, the Museum, the Cathedral and a surface access to the Cisterna Romana, an extensive water storage system which lies under the town. Hilltowns like Todi required large and sophisticated water catchment and storage areas as there was little or no water accessible from these hills. Water storage was essential at all times but especially during battle sieges when venturing outside the walls was dangerous.
The next two sets of photos include both outside and inside of Tempio di San Fortunado and the Cathedral. The former has extensive exquisite sculptures around the main entrance - some are beautiful, some grotesque and others humorous - note the small human figure nestled into the base of one of spiral carvings (bottom of the page). This cathedral is otherwise rather plain from the outside, but quite beautiful inside as the next set of photos show. At the bottom left of the 4th set of photos is one of the inside of the Cathedral on the edge of the Piazza. The photo is small but shows the striking rather plain inside of this cathedral compared to the inside of the Tempio di San Fortunado.