Discovered by accident in 1987 when plaster fortuitously fell off the walls like scales before eyes, what was revealed beneath in this very humble and simple monastic church of S. Perpetua in Tirano was a cycle of Carolingian frescoes that depicted not only the martyr St. Perpetua herself, but also St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Jude, St. Matthew, St. John, St. Luke and St. Gabriel the Archangel.
The dating of the frescoes subject to a certain amount of speculation but are thought be from the ninth century. They exhibit rather exuberant liveliness of both form and colour and their style are what we would today consider 'iconographic', though they evidently have their origins within the shared tradition of the ecclesiastical art of the first millennium.
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| St. Perpetua |
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| St. Matthew and St. Jude |
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| St. Peter seen on the right with his keys |
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| St. Paul, seen on the left along with St. Matthew and Jude |
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| The Archangel Gabriel in what was likely a scene depicting the Annunciation |
Some general views of the church help set their broader context.
