The church of Saints John and Paul, today no longer consecrated, stands in the area of the ancient Vaita Filittèria, the Byzantine quarter of medieval Spoleto. It was consecrated in 1174 and became one of the city's parish churches. Ashlars and spoils from the Roman era were used for its construction.
The exterior, characterised by very simple lines, is embellished in the left wall by a large fresco depicting the Madonna and four Saints dating back to the 13th-14th century, that today is hard to read.
The building is of singular interest due to the presence of several important frescoes inside, covering a time span from the 12th to the 16th century.
Particularly noteworthy is the one on the left wall depicting the martyrdom of Thomas Becket of Canterbury, datable to the first quarter of the 13th century and long attributed to Alberto Sotio, author of the Shaped Cross that long stood on the high altar of this church before being transferred to the Cathedral. It is among the oldest known frescoes depicting the scene of the murder of the English bishop, who died in 1170 and was canonised in 1173. On the right, instead, the famous iconography of Herod's banquet with the Dance of Salome is depicted.
The presbytery area, added in the 16th century, contains frescoes from the same century by Pier Matteo Piergili, a local prelate and painter. Much of the remaining area offers an insight into the rich pictorial production in Spoleto.
