The inscription along the cornice of the facade of the church states that Pope Paul III commissioned a loggia here for the public convenience, and that Cardinal Tiberio Crispo built it. This loggia, which is traditionally attributed to Galeazzo Alessi, opened onto a magnificent panorama. Its arches were closed to form the right wall of a churcha church that was probably dedicated in honour of the “peace” that followed the Salt Wars.
The Accademia del Disegno had its first headquarters here after its formation in 1573. The Compagnia de’ Muratori used the church until 1606, when they moved to Santa Maria del Popolo. The Compagnia dei Battilana (the wool workers’ guild) moved here in 1611. The Compagnia della Croce moved here in 1805 and took over the goods of the (by then defunct) Confraternita dei Lanari in 1819.
The church passed to the Conestabile della Staffa family in the early 2oth century, and became the private chapel of the nearby Palazzo Conestabile della Staffa. The family gave both the palace and the ex-church to the Commune in 1969, in order to house the Biblioteca Augusta. Sant’ Angelo della Pace now houses a collection of some 15,000 books donated by the Perugian intellectual, Walter Binni (died 1997).
Art from the Church
Coronation of the Virgin and saints (1611)
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✴the Coronation of the Virgin, above; and
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✴SS Francis, Micael Archangel and Blaise (the patron of wool workers) below.
It passed to the Ospedale di Santa Maria della Misericordia early in the 20th century and is now in the new hospital at Sant’ Andrea delle Fratte, outside Perugia.
Annunciation (1634)
