The Chiesa di S. Giovenale is probably the oldest in the city of Orvieto. It rises at the western end of the town’s rocky outcrop, on the remains of a previous early Christian church, already named after the same saint, in turn built near an ancient Etruscan temple dedicated to Tinia (Jupiter).
The modern building dates back to 1004, when it was commissioned and financed by various noble families in the city: the Conti, the Rossi, the Di Marsciano, the Ranaldini and others who lived in the Olmo district.
Currently the church retains simple Romanesque forms, with a facade in exposed square tufa ashlars, in which there is a central portal with a round arch. A bell tower stands on the left side of the facade and was remodelled several times in the upper section due to damage caused by lightning, while on the right side of the building there is a Renaissance-style portal, decorated with a bas-relief bust of San Giovenale in bishop’s vestments, dated to 1497. Internally, the church is divided into three naves: a wider central one with a trussed vault and two smaller side naves that are barrel vaulted. Due to restoration work carried out in the modern era, traces of some valuable frescoes from medieval Orvieto, dating to around the 13th century, have been brought to light. Unfortunately, some of these works of art had been plastered over and painted white, around 1640, possibly in an attempt to sanitize the church after its use as a shelter for patients with the plague during the severe epidemic.