Cattedrale di San Rufino - Organ Repair US Fund

The organ repair US Fund will support the restoration of two organs to enable the Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral to continue performing concerts.

The project involves the restoration and arrangement of the two organs of the Cathedral, in particular the major organ (in the photo). Both organs need to be cleaned and retuned in order to function and to allow the Schola Cantorum of the Cathedral to be able to continue to perform concerts and the young students of the Perugia Music Conservatory to perform. The restorer is Maestro Valentini who also in 1997 took care of fixing the major organ after the earthquake.

The second organ is used for everyday celebrations. It is a smaller organ but damaged by wear and tear. The nuns of our cathedral use it to animate the celebrations.

The cathedral is the place where the Bishop celebrates, so we need to put these organs in order to ensure a good quality of the liturgy. The technical details of the interventions on the two bodies can be found in the attached file.

History of San Rufino, the Cathedral of Assisi:

San Rufino the first Bishop of Assisi, who was martyred by the Romans in 238 AD. It wasn't until the 8th century that his remains were transferred from the original burial place, to the "Parva Basilica" built over the Roman temple of "Cupra/Mater" (4the century BC).

Two Hundred years later after a dispute between Bishop Ugone and the faithful of Assisi a new church was built over this site. "Magnum Ecclesiam" was then named the Cathedral of the city in 1035.

In the year 1134 the Chapter of the canons of San Rufino, presided over by the Prior Raniero, decided to demolish the Ugonian Basilica and to build a new and more imposing cathedral. A plaque walled up outside the apse recalls that the works for the new church, carried out on a project by the master Giovanni da Gubbio, were started in 1140. Due to much civil discord between the city factions and conflicts with neighboring cities slowed down the progress of the construction site considerably. Finally in 1212 the bones of St. Rufino were moved to the presbytery, while the altar was consecrated in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX and only in 1253 Innocent IV consecrated the entire church.

In 1566 the Canons commissioned the Perugian architect Galeazzo Alessi to take care of the renovation of the interior: the works began on 18 June 1571 and lasted until 1585.

Since then there have been several additions and improvements during the 17th and leading into the 18th centuries. In 1834 the Eucharistic Chapel was adorned in the classical baroque style and in 1841 the "Martinelli" Organ built by Antonio and Francesco Martinelli was added.

A Major element of the Cathedral is the baptismal font. In the font Saint Francis, Saint Clare, Saint Agnes (Clare's Sister), and many of the early followers of Francis were baptized. Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows and The Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick II, were also baptized here.