Sant'Ercolano, Gothic church in Perugia, Italy

Sant'Ercolano is a tower-like church built against Perugia's Etruscan walls, with an octagonal plan and a bell tower bearing a clock. Its two-ramp 17th-century staircase leads to a Baroque interior where Giovanni Andrea Carlone's 1675 frescoes paint a false dome over the Gothic ribbed vaults. The main altar rests on a 3rd-century Roman sarcophagus from Sant'Orfeto, carved with lions seizing prey.

Begun in 1297, the church was dedicated in 1317 to Saint Herculanus, the city's patron martyred under Totila. A second upper chapel, reached from the walls, was demolished in the 16th century because it blocked the view from the Rocca Paolina. After abandonment, Bishop Napoleone Comitoli restored it in 1591; the Barnabites reopened it for worship in 1607 and moved the saint's relics there in 1609.

The church is also called la Bombonniera. Its name honours Saint Herculanus, the bishop martyred by Totila's Goths and buried on this spot; his relics were moved here in 1609, and four canvases by Matteuccio Salvucci (1627) depict scenes of his life and that translation procession. The Barnabites, Clerics Regular of Saint Paul, held the church in the 17th and 18th centuries, which explains the frescoes of Saint Paul.

The church stands at the corner of via Sant'Ercolano and viale Indipendenza, next to the stairway of the same name. A two-ramp 17th-century staircase leads up to the entrance; the building is set against the Etruscan walls and rises like a tower, so expect steps rather than a level approach.

The church is nicknamed "la Bombonniera", and its tower-like mass made it look more like a fortress than a church. Its upper chapel, reached from above the walls at today's via Marzia, was demolished in the 16th century because it blocked the view of the Rocca Paolina. The martyrdom of Saint Herculanus and the church's original appearance are shown in 15th-century paintings by Benedetto Bonfigli in the Cappella dei Priori of the Galleria nazionale dell'Umbria.