In the heart of Sant’Angelo in Grotte, hidden under the Church of San Pietro in Vinculis, is a modest but precious crypt, reached by an internal staircase located to the right of the main entrance. This space, simple in structure but extraordinary in content, holds medieval frescoes of the Sienese school, true jewels of art, history and faith.
Created in the late 14th century, the frescoes follow the traditional cycle of the seven works of corporal mercy, a popular theme in the Middle Ages. The scenes, arranged along the walls of the crypt, show reminiscences of the style of Giotto and the Lorenzetti brothers, and have recently been the subject of study by artists and scholars, both Italian and foreign.
Originally, as the Gospel of Matthew recounts, there were six works of mercy; only after 1300 was the burial of the dead added. The pictorial cycle concludes with a view of the town of Bethlehem and a radiant sun with a human face, probably a symbol of the comet star.
Inside the crypt, a small stone altar testifies to the liturgical use of the environment. The visitor’s path winds through a dark and silent space, guided by frescoes that propose an authentic path of purification, between depictions of the heavenly Jerusalem and that of a Dantean hell.
Probably commissioned by the local feudal lord, these paintings are a powerful visual catechesis, a still relevant invitation to live concrete charity toward the poor and needy. Today, the crypt of St. Peter in Vinculis continues to convey a timeless message: open the heart to solidarity as the path to salvation.