The Church of San Bevignate: Historical Reconstruction and Infrared Thermographic Testing of Temple Order Frescoes

This paper deals with the thirteenth-century monumental complex of San Bevignate in Perugia, a building that in many respects represents a unicum, worldwide, among the Templar architectures that have come down to us today. In particular, the Church, stratified and rich in history, preserves an archaeological site and exceptional fresco cycles. A fundamental iconographic testimony linked to the Order of the Temple and local Umbrian cults, making it a heritage architecture of great historical value to be preserved and handed down. Using a non-invasive thermographic technique, it was possible to monitor, under passive conditions, the state of conservation of the mural paintings and the quality of their masonry supports: an aprioristic condition necessary to correlate the seismic safety of the building, the preservation of the frescoes and their valorisation from a museum and intermedial standpoint.