Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione

It is located outside of the thirteenth century walls of Todi: if coming from Orvieto, the Church is visible in the distance before entering the city. Its Classical architecture is opposed to that of the old town, of Medieval character. Work of international importance, is considered one of the symbols of Renaissance architecture. Its construction began in 1508 and ended after a hundred years. The authorship of the project is not safe, since the sixteenth century has been attributed to Donato Bramante, but there are no documents that could substantiate this attribution. The building has a central plant, in the shape of a Greek cross. From the outside, the Church is decorated with a double order of Corinthian pilasters. The succession of small windows, designed by Valentino Martelli, is punctuated by alternating curved and triangular pediments. The four apses are led by as many semi-dome, around which were applied four eagles made by Antonio Rosignoli between 1601 and 1604, symbol of communal power of Todi. From the terrace it lifts a large dome drum, with its lantern that crowns the entire building, up more than sixty meters. The interior is reminiscent of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome: the apses of east, south and west, polygonal, are lightened in four niches each, home to the statue of one of the twelve apostles. In the Church there is a wooden statue dedicated to one of the most prominent personalities of the city, Pope Martin I, who lived in the seventh century AD.