Church of St Tommaso
At the end of the thirteenth century, some documents attest the existence of a church in Lisciano, which used to pay tithes to the Diocese of Gubbio, while the Church of St. Thomas, whose rector Simone was under the Diocese of Perugia, is first mentioned in years 1332 - 1334.
The church is a simple building with a roof with wooden trusses and should date back to the fourteenth century; some experts may help detecting the presence of frescoes – some are already visible in part -, which could offer insights on the construction and transformations of the church.
Further embellishments and restoration works were carried out from the late sixteenth century onwards: in 1589 the confraternity of Santa Maria del Rosario (St. Mary of Rosary) was established, as attested by a plaque on the left wall of the church recalling a legacy (1621), which probably favored the construction of the altar bearing the same name, while on the opposite side another altar of painted wood and silver-leaf hosted a painting representing a holy hermit. The three paintings have been the subject of a restoration ordered by the B.A.P.P.S.A.E. Superintendent of Perugia (Supervision of works by Giuditta Rossi and Mariangela Brucato) and carried out by the company COO.BE.C of Spoleto. They are now temporarily on view in the modern church of Santa Maria delle Corti, in Lisciano Niccone; the other parts constituting the wooden altars are stored in a specific room.
As its historical and monumental importance is declared by a Decree of the Ministry of Culture, the church of St. Thomas is in deep and urgent need of restoration, as it represents the memory of the territory with a history spanning over ten centuries.
Unfortunately, negligence has resulted in repeated damages and thefts over time (the partitioning piece of furniture of the sacristy, the valuable baptismal font in carved stones and other objects have all disappeared), yet it is possible to recover the original structure of the church by initiating the restoration of the whole castle, where you can admire some medieval buildings with pointed arches, some fifteen century-small palaces with brick arches and houses dating back to the sixteenth century.
From the booklet “Presentation of the restoration of the works belonging to the church of St. Thomas in the ancient village of Lisciano Niccone” on July 13rd 2008.