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Walk down from Piazza del Popolo along Via S. Prassede, then take Via delle Mura Antiche and discover a unique artwork: the Painted House.

This lovely townhouse dates back to the 19th century and is located not so far from the main Piazza del Popolo, in one of the oldest medieval districts in town.

The owners are Brian O’Doherty (aka Patrick Ireland), an Irish-American artist, and his wife ,Barbara Novak, a very popular American art historian. UPDATE: our beloved Brian passed on November 7th, 2022 but a few months earlier the couple took the decision to donate their “place of the heart” to the Municipality of Todi.

The house should not be consider a museum: Barbara and Brian loved to come to Todi in September, spending here some weeks, enjoying  the typical relaxing athmosphere of the small Italian town and tasting the local delicacies!  During the rest of the year they were based in  New York City.

They purchased the house in 1975 and, starting from 1977,  Brian went on painting the house every time they were back to town…piece after piece, painting after painting; but since after more than 30 years his work was not yet over, he used to call it “my work in progress”!

O’Doherty created his alter ego, Patrick Ireland, in 1972  as a protest against the sadly famous Bloody Sunday (Derry, Ireland). As a recognition of the progress for peace in Ireland, he took a step back in 2008: he let his alter ego die and set up his burial cerimony in the garden of the Museum for Modern Art in Dublin. The tombstone is still visible in the garden.

O’Doherty was a pioneer of the conceptual and minimal art (among his best friends we can mention Duchamp and Hopper) , but he choose a very unconventional way of expressing it in the Painted House: he rediscovered the ancient Irish language, known as Ogham, which translates the 20 letters of the Roman alphabet into strokes.

In the house you can also admire some installations, known as Rope Drawings

In short, the Painted House is definitely something unique that you don’t expect to find in a medieval town like Todi… something impossible to describe without seeing it.

Last but not least, the house is deeply soaked with the love that bound the artist to his wife and vice versa. The house is in a certain way the symbol of their love for each other; they were a beloved couple in Todi, everyone knew and admired them thanks to their kindness and politeness.

UNFORTUNATELY THE VISIT TO THE HOUSE IS NOT AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT DUE TO SOME RESTORATION WORK. WE WILL KEEP YOU INFORMED!

The house can be visited by appointment contacting Elisa. More info at SPECIAL ITINERARIES IN TODI

In the house you can also buy the monograph about Brian O’Doherty written by Brenda Moore-McCann   

a second publication by Brenda, concerning a collection of letters written by Brian to her and to some other people.

And the latest book entirely dedicated to the Painted House

Photogallery of the Opening of The Painted House, October 11th 2011

If you want to take a tour of the “Painted House” you can contact Elisa Todiguide tour guide of Umbria  at this number 389 424 62 62 or fill out this form

I you want to visit the house without a guided tour, please contact the Info Tourist Office at 075 8956227