The Horse Fountain

Constructed against the castle walls and near the Cesare Battisti Gate, formerly Holy Cross, it was used for watering the horses that were accommodated in the public stable of Borgo Garibaldi. According to tradition, Victor Emmanuel II’s horse drank from this fountain during the pageant that accompanied the passage of the sovereign around the castle walls in 1860.

Ferri Building

This was the last residence of Camillo Ferri, the Marquis of Monte Ferro, who upon his death in 1902, left all of his belongings to the Municipality: the “Umberto I” hospital, the “Vittorio Emanuele II” preschool, the “Carradori-Pianetti” Orphange, the Worker’s Society, the “A. Scaramuccia Reading Centre” and the Municipal Band. The main façade of the building is in late neoclassical style and the main floor, containing frescoed ceilings with mythological motifs, houses the Historical Archives.

Church of the Holy Cross

It was originally built in 1558, the year in which the Municipality decided to construct a new church that would suitably accommodate the relic of the Cross preserved in a small chapel. Rebuilt starting in 1595, the façade is characterized by a portico constructed in 1660, divided into three spans with cross vaults. The interior, a single hall, presents eight chapels partly re-elaborated in the same year and embellished with stucco, paintings, frescoes and fittings. The chapels belonged to the local noble families, among which were: Buscalferri, Tulli, Antolini, Buratti and Ferri, who placed their coat of arms above the entrance arches. The main altar is one of the most important objects in the church. It was built between the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century, in inlaid and gilded wood with great ornamental magnificence. It separates the presbytery from the wood choir at the back and at the centre, there is an impressive wooden crucifix. The choir loft of the counter-façade, in Rococo style, contains an organ of 1750 attributed to Giuseppe Attili from Ortezzano.

Church of Saint John the Baptist

It is the oldest part of the Convent of the Poor Clares and was the second parish established in Montecassiano after that of Saint Nicolò. Externally, the church has a rectangular shape with a sloping roof and a double portal, whereas the interior has an octagonal plan with a lobed dome. The decorations of the architectural elements, those of the altars, the cornices on the walls and the dome were made in stucco and include a series of little angels, flowers, shells and volutes. The larger sides are occupied by the counter-façade and by three altars. The walls are articulated by smooth, giant pilasters with varied capitals.

Municipal Hall (ex convent of the Augustines)

The original building of the convent dates back to the period between 1481 and 1496. Since 2009, it has been the Municipal Hall. After 1861, the church and convent of Saint Mark were declared property of the Municipality. The church was given in custody to an Augustine priest and a lay person until 1910, when the Augustines left Montecassiano for good. Noteworthy are the fresco paintings from the 19th century on the ceiling of the southeast hall of the complex, representing the Allegories of the Arts, and in the central medallion, Diana the huntress. The adjacent room, rather large, has a painting on the ceiling of the municipal coat of arms.

Oratory of Saint Nicolò

The building dates back to the 13th century. In the wall belfry, there is one of the oldest bells in the Marche region (casted in 1382). The first parish of the town resided here. After the construction of the walls in the 1400s, the building lost its primary importance because it was located outside of the surrounding walls in an undefended position. The oratory is characterized by a Romanesque apse in a single hall. Originally, the walls were covered with frescoes of a devotional nature attributed to the Marche School of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Palace of Priors

The original structure of the building dates back to the 12th century, but it was completely redone in the 15th century. In 1467, the façade and the portico were built, as confirmed by a commemorative stone above the second pillar on the left, carried out according to the design by Master Antonio Lombardo in the Lombard architecture of the times. In the next century, the municipal administration purchased some nearby homes to enlarge the structure. The present aspect of the façade dates back to a restoration in 1938 by the architect, Guido Cirilli, an intervention which restored the battlements and which had a great arch built connecting it to the Compagnucci Building. On the façade, there is a niche between the first and second windows with a 19th century fresco portraying the Madonna with Child. On the interior, there is a funerary headstone dating back to the 1st century after Christ in honour of Cassia Orestina, found in 1602 in the Valle Cascia locality. The Great Hall, formerly the Council Meeting room, has a wooden truss ceiling and is illuminated by three double lancet windows of the façade.

Entrance Gates and Castle Walls

The surrounding walls of the municipality date back to the beginning of the 1400s.

Most of the work was carried out by Lombard workers in 1437, the same period in which the three Entrance Gates were built: Cerreto Gate, Saint John’s Gate and Holy Cross Gate.

The Cerreto Gate, now called Diaz Gate, is set back from the steep sloping castle walls and it has a central brattice, an abutment tower and reconstructed battlements.

Saint John’s Gate, or the “Pesa” Gate, is at the end of the flight of stairs in Via Roma and it was the ancient entrance into the historical town centre.

The Holy Cross Gate, or Saint Nicolò’s Gate, now called Cesare Battisti Gate, was the only drawbridge and today you can still see the crenellated ramparts with slits for shooting and rooms for accommodating the lateral bombardiers.

Collegiate Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption

Built on a pre-existing pagan temple dedicated to the Goddess Venus, the original parish obtained the title of Collegiate Church in the 1700s, maintaining the title “Saint Mary.”

The single-sloped façade is dominated by a rose window in white stone and a lancet window. The bronze portal narrates the story of the religious community of Montecassiano and was made in 1985 by the Sculptor, Sesto Americo Luchetti. The interior is divided into three naves with a cross vaulted ceiling supported by octagonal pillars topped with simple capitals. The architecture is in the Gothic-Cistercian style.

The church’s altarpiece is in glazed terracotta and was painted by the monk, Mattia della Robbia. It represents the Madonna with Child in glory between Saints Sebastian, Rocco, Peter Martyr and Anthony the Abbot. The predella illustrates the stories from Jesus’ childhood alternated with festoons of fruit, a characteristic of Robbia’s paintings. In the lunette, there is the figure of God the Father while blessing, together with angel musicians and surrounded with festoons and cherubs.

In the nave on the right one can admire the altarpiece by Giacomo da Recanati, from the mid-15th century, with Coronation of the Virgin among Saints Francis of Assisi, John the Evangelist, John the Baptist, Lawrence and two patrons.
The lateral chapel, on the right of the main altar, is dedicated to the Madonna of the Good Heart.

Church of Saint Mark, also called Saint Augustine and Our Lady of Good Counsel

The church, built in the last decade of the 14th century, was often used as a hall for the Council during the periods of war and the plague. The church and convent were soon given over to the Augustine Order which took up residence in the Municipal building at the end of the 15th century. They enlarged the nearby convent through restorations and extensions. In this sacred place, the Venerable Giovanni Nicolucci took his vows and became rector, taking on the name of Father John of San Guglielmo, known as the Apostle of the Maremma. He lived and worked during the period of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, Ferdinand and Cosmos II. The interior of the church is a splendid example of a three-nave Marche Baroque style.

Saints Philip and James Church

Built in the 18th century, it used to be part of a vast hospital complex and was supported by the Confraternity of Saints Philip and James. The church has a simple and linear form with a one-hall interior and ribbed vault ceiling. It houses the Confraternity Museum which collects processional objects, still used today in the solemn processions, which belong to the town’s confraternities. It also preserves official documents of the same.

torna all'inizio del contenuto
This is the section of the institutional site of the Municipality of del Comune di Montecassiano dedicated to tourism. For information regarding the organization, go to the home
This site is made by TASK according to the main accessibility rules | Credits | Privacy | Legal notices