Extraordinary openings and guided tours of Palazzo Racani Arroni, Teatro Caio Melisso and the Hermitage of Sant’Antonio

Spoleto joins the Giornate FAI di Primavera 2019 offering, on Sunday, March 24, the extraordinary opening of three places usually closed to the public: Palazzo Racani Arroni, Teatro Caio Melisso-Spazio Carla Fendi and the Hermitage of Sant’Antonio in Monteluco. Guided tours will be led by students, called “Apprendisti ciceroni”, of Spoleto’s secondary schools.

Now in its 27th edition, the FAI event will feature this year 1,100 special openings in 430 locations, in all regions, thanks to the organizational effort of the 325 groups of delegates scattered throughout the regions.

The extraordinary opening of Palazzo Racani – Arroni is scheduled from 10:00 to 18:00 (last admission 18:00). The first floor (Piano nobile) of the Palace will close at 16. Afterwards, it will only be possible to visit the courtyard and the nymphaeum.

The Renaissance palace has an interesting facade decorated with graffiti, unfortunately very damaged. The entrance on the ground floor leads into the small courtyard embellished with mullioned and three-light windows and, above all, with the fascinating nymphaeum on the back wall. The pool is dominated by a deep niche with three large stucco figures and culminates in a lunette in the shape of a shell. There are no certain sources about the artists who worked in the palace, but an involvement of Giulio Romano is a hypotesis to be considered. The palace, owned by the Fondazione Centro Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, also houses the headquarters of the Fondazione Festival dei Due Mondi.

The visit is curated by students of IIS “Sansi-Leonardi-Volta”, Classical and Linguistic courses; FAI Volunteers. Visits also in English language

The visit to the Teatro Caio Melisso – Spazio Carla Fendi is possible from 10:00 to 18:00 (last admission 18:00).

The Caio Melisso descends from the oldest theater in Spoleto: the “room for public comedies” mentioned in 1664, which in 1668 had already become one of the first Italian theaters with boxes. Its present form is due to the work of Giovanni Montiroli (1887 – 1880). This was followed by the restoration by architect Roberto De Luca in 1958, on the occasion of the first edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi, and by the recent restoration supported by the Carla Fendi Foundation, which also recovered the nineteenth-century “Scena ricca” (Rich Scene) and the curtain with the “Gloria di Caio Melisso” (Glory of Caio Melisso). The decoration of the curtain, the beautiful ceiling with “Apollo and the Muses” and some panels of the foyer are by Domenico Bruschi (around 1880). It is characterized by a horseshoe plan, with three tiers of boxes and a loggia.

Visits by students of Istituto Tecnico Professionale Spoleto and FAI Volunteers.

For the walk from S. Pietro/S. Sylvester to the Hermitage of Sant’Antonio, the timetable (from 10:30 to 12:30 and then from 15:00 to 17:00) indicates the departure and presumed return time of the two walks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The meeting is scheduled half an hour before scheduled time, in front of the church of San Pietro, at the beginning of the road to Monteluco. Medium-difficulty route. Recommended: comfortable clothing and hiking boots.

A pleasant walk through the woods of Monteluco will start from the Church of San Pietro and arrive at the Hermitage of Sant’Antonio. Probably the site of an ancient hermitage, the place was donated by the Cecili family to the Clareni friars, who built the church and convent around 1494. The Observant friars later modified and enlarged the complex. After the friars left in 1867, the place became a meeting place for the Garibaldians and in 1870 it was purchased by the Società Operaia di Mutuo Soccorso. During the First World War the war prisoners, who were working on the opening of the new road to Monteluco, were housed there. Subsequently, the structure was sold to the City of Spoleto, which transormed them into private houses. The building lies since many years in a state of complete abandonment.

Visits by students of Istituto Alberghiero di Spoleto and FAI Volunteers.

Reservations (only for the walk) at Spoleto Tourist Information Office: Phone: 0743.218620 – Mail: info@iat.spoleto.pg.it