The Abbey was built around 996 on the previous cathedral. In the following centuries, it increased its power, and the monastery experienced a period of expansion under Pope Eugene IV, who joined the Congregation of St. Giustina of Padua. The Abbey was temporarily suppressed by the French in 1799. The monumental facade with three arches, was designed around 1614 by architect Valentino Martelli, who also designed the cloister. Polygonal bell tower, at the right of the portal, was rebuilt in 1463-68 in Florentine Gothic lines, based on a design by Bernardo Rossellino. The interior has a basilica structure and houses the largest collection of art in Perugia, after the National Gallery of Umbria. The nave is divided into a series of arches on gray ancient marble columns; the top is decorated with canvases painted with scenes from the Old and New Testament, made in Venice by Antonio Vassillachi. The nave has a wooden coffered ceiling, richly decorated by Benedetto di Giovanni da Montepulciano (1556). The principal characteristic of the sanctuary is the inlaid wooden choir, considered one of the most beautiful in Italy. The Abbey has two other cloisters: the Greater, a Renaissance building attributed to Guido da Settignano, and that "of the Star", 1571, by Galeazzo Alessi. In front of the Abbey are the Frontone Gardens.