Montelparo
Audioguide
Montelparo - Historical notes
Situated 588 meters above sea level between the Aso and Ete Vivo rivers in the province of Fermo, the village of Montèlparo currently has just over 700 inhabitants. The town dates back to the 8th century BC, as evidenced by the archaeological finds from the Picene settlements. However, it wasn’t until the 7th and 8th centuries that the town’s first castle was built by the Lombard leader Elpràndo (or Elipràndo), who also began construction on the town’s first encircling wall. In fact, the town of Montèlparo even takes its name from Elpràndo. In the 11th century, control of Montèlparo castle passed into the hands of the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Farfa – which is in Fara in Sabina, in the province of Rieti – the name “Mons Elpràndi” appearing for the first time in the Abbey’s documents, which date back to the 12th century. The monks also built the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel and the annexed monastery on the hill. In 1215, Montèlparo became a free municipality of the Guelph party, with three monasteries (one Benedictine, one Augustinian and one Franciscan), the bastion of the civic tower, and a second and a third circle of walls. It was known as "Magnifica Commùnitas" because of its safety and lifestyle, and Cardinal Gregorio Petrocchini, who collaborated with Sixtus V, was born there in 1536. On 2nd February 1703, a violent earthquake destroyed much of the town, the historic centre along with the Town Hall and the Augustinian complex being rebuilt in the valley.
Church of Saint Michael the Archangel
The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel dates back to the 12th century and includes a presbytery (reserved for the clergy) and a portal (monumental door) with two small columns separated by semi-pillars. The façade hosts a stone band with floral decorations and, at the top, there is a 15th-century spire with a niche (the hollow in the wall is a decorative element). The side portals gave access to the Oratory of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament and to the ancient monastery. Until 1844, the church housed the "The Coronation of the Virgin and the Saints", a polyptych (altarpiece made of several juxtaposed elements) created by Niccolò Liberatore in 1466, now on display in the Vatican Pinacoteca. Of particular note are the 17th century baptismal font in gilded wood, the altarpiece “Madonna del Santissimo Rosario”, the 15th and 16th century frescoes of St Sebastian and St James the Apostle, the “Mystery of Human Salvation”, and the fragments of various frescoes including “The Madonna Enthroned with Her Child in Her Arms Between Two Angels”. In 2010, the Benedictine monastic structure and the crypt were restored, along with the frescoes of the Madonna della Misericordia, St Catherine of Alexandria, the Madonna del Latte and the Madonna with Child in her arms. The 16th century fresco, “The Crucifix with a Defaced Face between Our Lady of Sorrows and St Francis of Assisi”, is located in the Oratory of the Confraternity of the Holy Sacriment.
Museum of Ancient Itinerant Bicycle Trades
There is no shortage of museums dedicated to unusual and bizarre things in the world. The Museum of Ancient Itinerant Bicycle Crafts in Montelparo was founded by the collector Lauro Lupi. The museum is located in the left nave of the Church of Saint Michael Archangel and is divided into three floors. It displays a large, varied collection of working activities which were performed on bicycles and there are a total of about sixty bicycles on show. If you come from a small town, you may remember seeing the ice cream maker and the knife grinder riding around on two wheels– just two of the many tradesmen who got about on bicycles between 1920 and 1960. You can see the ice cream maker's bicycle, the knife-grinder's bicycle, the mattress maker’s bicycle and the boilermaker’s bicycle, to name just a few. This museum not only testifies to the creativity of man and how ingenuity can turn intuition into a real job, but also documents the capacity for suffering and fatigue as a result of the absolutely remarkable physical effort made by those who cycled from one town to another in order to make a living for their families. Once upon a time, the jobs (whose equipment is housed in the Montèlparo museum) were called "poor trades". Today, they have almost completely disappeared. "Almost" because there are still some exceptions, like some knife grinders who continue their trade without giving in to the passage of time.
Palazzo Petrocchini: the birthplace of Cardinal Gregorio Petrocchini
Walking along Via Castello, you can see the beautiful Palazzo Petrocchini, which dates back to the 14th century. It was the birthplace of the Montèlparo Cardinal Gregorio Petrocchini, who was born in the palace in 1536. At just 13 years old, he entered the Order of Saint Augustine and went on to study in Bologna and Milan, graduating in philosophy and theology. In 1574, he became Regent of the Augustinian Study of Fermo and, in 1578, of Macerata. He was Prior of the Convent of Salerno and theologian of the Bishop of Amalfi before, in 1589, Sixtus V appointed him Cardinal. When he was 51, he became Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine, before being nominated Cardinal Priest of Saint Augustine. At the age of 69, he became Chamberlain of the Cardinal College; at 72, Cardinal Priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere; at 75, Cardinal Priest of San Lorenzo in Lucìna and cardinal proto-presbyter; and, in 1612, the year of his death, Cardinal Bishop of Palestrina. The palace in which he was born is currently a private residence and the seat of the former Monte Frumentario. The year 1511, the date of its institution, is clearly visible on the palace’s finely decorated, Gothic style portal.
Church of Santa Maria Novella
The Church of Santa Maria Novella stands where the Jewish ghetto once stood, in the eastern part of Montèlparo. Dating back to the 13th century, the church has a very characteristic, beautiful stone façade and a terracotta portal. Inside, there were once three altars. Until 2016, the main altar was decorated with the “Madonna and Child Enthroned between St John the Baptist and St Mary Magdalene”, an oil on panel attributed to Vincenzo Pagani which is currently housed in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Silvestre. The canvas on the left of the chapel depicts “St Benedict of Norcia in glory and the martyrdom of St Lucia”, while on the right stands the “Weeping of St Peter after the crowing of the cock” which dates back to the 17th century. The face of the Madonna is depicted on a fragment of a fresco on the right wall of the presbytery.
Church of Saint Peter and Saint Silvestre
Dating back to the 13th century, the small Church of Saint Peter and Saint Silvestre is located in the historic centre of Montèlparo. In 1286, it became the property of the Benedictine nuns of Sant’Angelo Magno of Ascoli Piceno. Then, during the 15th century, the church passed into the hands of the monks of the Olivetan Congregation, who, in 1555, united the Church of Saint Peter with the rural Church of Saint Silvestre (which was also owned by them), the church later taking its current name (as appears in the inscription on the wall above the high altar). The church was restored from 2014 -15 and has a sacristy and a Gothic stone portal in the main entrance on Via Petrocchini, and a secondary entrance on Via Catanovetta allows access to the sacristy. Religious activities, conferences and exhibitions are held at the church, which is also used as a repository for archaeological finds discovered in the area. The fresco of the "Madonna with Child and Saints Peter and Sylvester" is located inside in the central niche, and the frescoes in the rectory dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries have recently been restored.
Church of Saint Gregory the Great
The construction of the Church of Saint Gregory the Great was financed with an outlay of approximately 6,000 Scudi by Cardinal Gregorio Petrocchini as a gift to the town where he was born. However, it wasn’t until 1615, three years after the Cardinal's death, that church was inaugurated for worship. In addition to endowing the church with relics and objects of worship, Petrocchini, left another 6,000 Scudi to maintain an archpriest (parish priest), five canons (priests who celebrate liturgical functions), a sacristan (in charge of the sacristy) and a cleric (who acts as a guide for the faithful). The heart of Petrocchini himself is kept in a lead capsule covered in wood inside the church. The bell tower rises from the external wall above the sacristy, which is adjacent to the church, near the high altar, where sacred furnishings are kept, and the priest wears sacred vestments. It houses three bells: one from Bucchiano Castle which was cast in 1354 in Nola, a town in the region of Campania which was famous in ancient times for the production of small bells with an elongated shape. Unfortunately, in 1745, an arson attack destroyed part of the church, some relics and art works. However, the church still houses four side altars, the altarpiece of the main altar depicting Cardinal Petrocchini and his family at the feet of Saint Gregory the Great. Statues of Saint Joseph and the Immaculate Conception, and the 18th century painting "Via Crucis" from the Fermo workshop of Troiani line the sides of the presbytery (the space reserved for the clergy). The sacristy houses a portrait of Cardinal Gregorio Petrocchini.
Porta del Sole
Porta del Sole (the Sun Gate) is the entrance to the historic centre of Montèlparo that you pass through in order to to enter the town and begin your visit. Dating back to the 13th century, the gate was restored in the early 2000s, and was once the most advanced point in the walls of Montèlparo Castle. After passing under Porta del Sole’s pointed Gothic style stone arch (with a pointed crown) and entering the village, the road suddenly becomes very steep until it flattens out and roads leading to the main square and the highest parts of the village branch off.
Town Hall and Civic Tower
Built between the late-17th and early-18th centuries, Montèlparo’s town hall is located on Via Roma and is an integral part of the city walls. It is integrated with the town’s civic tower, a beautiful semi-circular tower dating back to the 15th century, which was originally a watchtower and is now a monumental tower with a bell cast in 1527. Furniture and paintings from the nearby Augustinian convent and the canvas entitled “La Strage degli Innocenti” by Bartolo da Siena adorn the interior. In early-2024, the town’s Municipality approved a reconstruction project for the town hall, which was damaged by an earthquake in 2016. The Church of Saint Augustine and its convent are located a just few metres from the town hall and the tower.
Convent and Church of Saint Augustine
The Church of Saint Augustine is part of the ancient convent of the Augustinian fathers which was built in 1686. The convent has a square base with rooms, corridors and a cloister, as well as basement rooms that once served as a cellar, a granary, a stables and an icehouse which currently house a restaurant. Built several years after the convent, the Church of Saint Augustine, was designed by the architect Lucio Bonòmi. It has an imposing facade with classical lines and was inaugurated for worship in 1730. Inside the church, a compass stands out for its beauty and protects the entrance, above which stand the choir (reserved for church singers) and a pipe organ. Behind the main altar, there is a choir worked in wood dated 1750. The constant presence of the Augustinian fathers in Montèlparo was important for its inhabitants, both from a spiritual and cultural, as well as an educational point of view. The Augustinians managed many things in Montèlparo, including the Brotherhood of Mercy, which took care of the sick, the dying and the burial of the dead, the Opera Pia Hospital and the Monte di Pietà. The Municipality of Montèlparo acquired both the Convent and the Church of Saint Augustine in 1861. Over the years, convent rooms were also used to host students of the “Aristide Lombi” elementary and middle schools, and a part of the convent is currently used as a municipal hostel.
Museum of Sacred Art
Inaugurated in the late-1990s, the museum of sacred art in Largo Marconi houses collections of sacred vestments and furnishings, candlesticks, crucifixes and other objects from the former Augustinian convent, testifying to the influence the monastic order has had on the local population since 1259, the year they settled in Montèlparo. Some of the most important objects include reliquaries, a 17th century inlaid mother-of-pearl crucifix, and several copes (liturgical vestments used by the clergy in churches), some of which are finished in gold. The convent was destroyed during the earthquake of 1703, so the friars decided to rebuild it in a more stable and safe part of the town. However, when the religious orders were suppressed, both the church and the convent became the property of the Municipality of Montèlparo. Before the museum was inaugurated, the sacred and precious objects which now make up the museum collection were originally housed in the civic tower of the town hall.