Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Letterati

The church of Saint Mary of the Scholars, built in the 18th century on the foundations of the churche of Saint Mary of Mercy which collapsed during an earthquake. It became a collegiate church in 1728 by Pope Benedict XIII’s Papal Brief . The original single nave plan was modified in 1856 when the addition of an apse and two lateral transepts transformed it into a Latin cross plan. The church is particularly beautiful inside and it houses several valuable works of are. In the apse of the central altar you can admire the well-known canvas of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, painted in 1539. This work had originally been commissioned for the Temple of the Annunciation in Florence. This work, which displays a Raphaelite influence, was executed by Vincenzo Pagani (1490-1568) a Monterubbiano native whose paintings can be seen in major art galleries in Italy, and who is still the pride of our town. The choir, in walnut, with briar-root inlays, was created in 1778 by master craftsmen Alessio Donati from Offida and GaetanoMircoli from Monterubbiano, who also created the altars in Saint Francis Auditorium. High in the left transept, is the altar piece consisting of the painting “Crucifixion” by Lattanzio Pagani (called “Lattanzio della Marca by Vasari), son of Vincenzo and his worthy heir. To the right of the altar piece there are three tables from an altar predella by Vincenzo Pagani in a glass case: Judas’s Kiss, the Flagellation, The Climb to Calvary. In the right transept there is the painting of The Apparition of the Sacred Heart to Beatified Margherita Maria Alaloque, oil on canvas by the renowned painter Luigi Fontana (1827-1908). Retracing your steps, at the back of the church, above the tambour, there is an antique organ built by Callido, the famous craftsman from Veneto, in 1794. The organ has been restored recently.