St. Donato de Ierna Monastery

The ancient monastery of St. Donato is in the Municipality of Piegaro and takes its name from the Jerna creek that flows nearby. The foundation of the Abbey is uncertain, it is presumed however that it can be dated around the 11th to 12th centuries. The Camaldolese monks, as well as other religious orders, founded numerous monasteries and convents immediately after the year 1000, and without other information it is probable that also St. Donato’s responded to the need of spiritual renewal. There is no information on the life inside the abbey other than the confirmation and renewals carried out by the highest mediaeval authorities of the dependence of the structure on the bishop of Perugia. In fact, we know for sure it was subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of Perugia since 1136, as  evidenced by a  seal of Innocent II dated Pisa 13 December of that year addressed to the bishop of Perugia, Rodolfo degli Armanni de Staffa. The Camaldolese Abbey is mentioned in ancient documents also with the uncertain name of St. Donato de Gena, Gerla, Gerua. In a diploma of confirmation of Federico Barbarossa’s property dated 1163, it is mentioned as “abbey of Gerne“.

Mentioned in 1206 by Innocent III and in 1338 by Ludovico il Bavaro as still subject to the diocese of Perugia, towards the middle of the 14th century it was abandoned by the monks passing under the control of the church of Santa Mustiola of Chiusi. In fact, in a census of 1370 it no longer appears among the properties of the diocese of Perugia. In 1471 it was suppressed, reduced to a secular commendam and joined to the abbey of San Giovanni di Monte Erile from which the “de iure” parish belonged. In the report that followed the visit to St. Donato di Ierna by the apostolic representative Della Rovere, dating back to 1572, the order to build the baptismal font at one’s own expense is reported. However this was not carried out until 1817 at the expense of the parishioners. In 1600, the bishop of Perugia, Napoleone Comitoli, placed the parish in perpetual vicariate.

Exterior: Few traces remain of the monastic complex. Today the rooms annexed to the church are colonial residences. Instead the parish church, with the title of St. Donato, was extensively renovated in the 19th century and is in a fair condition. The façade has an ashlar facing. The exterior of the Church is completed by a square bell tower. It was built using stone and bricks. Interior: Inside there is a single nave and barrel vault, it is adorned with three rich altars, each of which is surmounted by a large oil on canvas from the late 17th century. The canvas of the high altar depicts Jesus on the Cross between a grieving Magdalena and St. Donato; the altar on the right represents Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with St. Joseph and a Franciscan saint on either side; the altar on the left has The Virgin with Child between St. Peter and St. John the Baptist. On the sides of the main altar two doors open up: the right one leads into the sacristy and the left one to a small room with frescoed walls, where the baptismal font is located.