Cannara: Churches, Piandarca and the Festa della cipolla

Cannara lies on the left bank of the Topino River in the center of the Umbra Valley. The town combines a clearly recognizable religious and art-historical character with a rural setting and its own culinary tradition. In Cannara, church art, Franciscan history, Piandarca with the Sentiero Storico, and the Cipolla di Cannara come together.

Churches, Art and Historic Sites

The Chiesa di San Matteo was built between 1788 and 1793 according to a design by the architect Giuseppe Brizi, who came from Assisi. The church also contains a painting by Niccolò di Liberatore, known by the name “L’Alunno”. It depicts the Madonna enthroned with the Christ Child between Saints Francis and Matthew. The architecture and subject of the painting provide this place with two different art-historical points of reference.

The Chiesa di San Francesco is the church of the Third Franciscan Order. This was conceived by Saint Francis precisely in Cannara. Also located in Cannara is the Tugurio di San Francesco in the Palazzo Majolica Landrini on Piazza del Terz’Ordine Francescano. These places thus lead to different facets of Franciscan history, without requiring you to focus on a single theme for your visit.

The “Città di Cannara” Museum is housed in the former convent of the Salesian Sisters. The museum displays a 65-square-meter mosaic from the baths of Urvinum Hortense.

Piandarca and the Sentiero Storico

Piandarca in Cannara is a rural area of approximately 6,000 square meters. It is surrounded by cultivated fields, olive groves, and rows of poplar trees. A small path called “Sentiero Storico”, meaning a historic trail, also runs through Piandarca; it is approximately 2.5 kilometers long. For route planning and your own daily itinerary, the figure of approximately 2.5 kilometers provides a specific indication of the length of the Sentiero Storico at Piandarca in Cannara.

The traditional procession to Piandarca also draws on these local connections. It begins at the Chiesa di San Francesco in the historic center of Cannara, follows the Sentiero Storico to the memorial stone, and ends at the Edicola. The procession thus connects Cannara’s historic center with Piandarca.

Cipolla di Cannara and Festa della cipolla

The Cipolla di Cannara is recognized as a traditional Italian agricultural and food product (P.A.T.). Since 1981, the traditional Festa della cipolla has been held in Cannara every September. September is the relevant month for an individual travel plan to Cannara if the Festa della cipolla is to be included. During the festival, numerous food stalls in the streets and squares of Cannara’s historic center offer tastings of Cipolla di Cannara. The onion is prepared according to a wide variety of recipes.

More destinations for planning your trip to Italy

More destinations: Fighille, Ponte Nuovo, Colvalenza, Spoleto, Lerchi, San Leo Bastia, Bruna, Fabbri.

More about Perugia: Perugia.