The disappearing corpse of Fra’ Filippo Lippi
Fra’ Filippo Lippi died shortly after completing the frescoes in Spoleto’s Duomo, the rumour being that he was poisoned for seducing the daughter of a local noble family, his position as a monk having had no bearing on his sexual appetite. The Spoletans, not too perturbed by moral laxity, were delighted at having someone famous to put in their cathedral, being, as Vasari put it, “poorly provided with ornaments, above all with distinguished men”, and so refused to send the dead artist back to Lorenzo de’ Medici, his Florentine patron. Interred in a tomb designed by his son, Filippino Lippi (now in the right transept), the corpse disappeared during restoration two centuries later, the popular theory being that it was spirited away by descendants of the compromised girl – a sort of vendetta beyond the grave.
The Festival dei Due Mondi
Hosting Italy’s leading international arts festival, the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of Two Worlds), has been a double-edged blessing for Spoleto – crowds and commercialism being the price it has had to pay for culture. Having already rejected thirty other Italian locations, the influential arts guru Giancarlo Menotti plumped for the town in 1958, attracted by its scenery, small venues and general good vibes. The ensuing jamboree is a great attraction if you’re into music, dance or theatre, though the place forgoes a good part of its charm for the duration. While the festival is in progress – for two weeks between June and July – you can expect packed hotels and restaurants, and the chance of higher prices all round. At the same time there’s an Edinburgh-influenced fringe and plenty of films, jazz, buskers and so on. Organizers, moreover, are increasingly looking to more avant-garde shows to recover the artistic edge of the festival’s early days, while Spoleto has spawned an annual sister festival at Charleston in the USA. Check out information from the tourist office or the festival’s main box office at Piazza della Libertà 10. For big events, it’s worth buying tickets in advance online.
Top image: Spoleto (Italy) - A misty fall day in the charming and surprising medieval village in Umbria region © ValerioMei/Shutterstock