Perugino and Fontignano.
The last ray of light and the confirmation of eternal glory.

In 1564, Don Donato Turri, the vicar of Bishop Fulvio della Corgna of Perugia, made a pastoral visit to the Church of the Annunciation in Fontignano. There, he saw an altar adorned with “beautiful figures and decorations”—it was Perugino’s the Adoration of the Shepherds, the final precious fresco by the "Divine Painter." Sadly, the fresco later suffered from the “outrages of men,” as described by Silvestro Massari in his On the Nativity Scene of Fontignano. In the early 19th century, the entire work was whitewashed over, with frames, friezes, and other gaudy decorations added on top. It remained that way until the Perugian archaeologist Professor Vermiglioli and Father Enrico Agostini “spoke out against such barbarism” and succeeded in having the coarse whitewashing removed. But the story doesn’t end there. Perhaps due to the urgent need to rebuild the Parish Church of San Leonardo, which had been destroyed in a fire, a decision was made to sell the Adoration of the Shepherds from the Church of the Annunciation. Professor Giuseppe Carattoli, a painting instructor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia, was tasked with evaluating the offer, and the fresco was eventually purchased by Father Nazzareno Bonomi, Vicar General of the Paolotti order in Perugia. In 1843, the restorer Pellegrino Succi was commissioned to remove the fresco, as the precarious condition of the Church of the Annunciation would no longer ensure its preservation. This marked the beginning of the adventurous journey of Pietro Vannucci's last work. By 1844, the canvas onto which the fresco had been transferred was still in Rome, at Succi’s workshop, awaiting restoration—or, more accurately, repair for the damage caused by the hasty and ill-conceived detachment. The fresco then vanished from record until 1862, when it was sold by Angelo Morettini, a Perugian organ maker, to an Englishman named Spence. From that point on, the Adoration of the Shepherds was housed in London, moving between the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it is displayed today. Thanks to a successful 2023 restoration at the Church of the Annunciation in Fontignano, traces of the Adoration of the Shepherds have resurfaced beneath several layers of paint, bearing witness to what the “outrages of men” could not entirely erase.

Liana Francisci