Itinerario a San Severino Marche
SAN SEVERINO MARCHE
A JEWEL TO BE DISCOVERED
After the intense Roman municipal life of Settempeda the town was reinstated not
far away on the top of Monte Nero as a medieval castrum named after the local
bishop Severino who lived in the 6th century, all of which was preceded by the
Piceni civilization who left some of their most impressive testimonies. After the
economic and social boom of the two and three hundreds a village arose on the
slopes of the hill which soon became the real town. All of this is evident on the
town plans of San Severino which include the walls of Monte Nero, where the
inhabited distribution remained faithful to the true medieval town, with huts
dotted here and there spaced out with terraced allotments; in a comanding position
and on top of the hill were the buildings of public and ecclesiastic power. On the
flat land at the base of the slopes was a large market square, situated as close as
possible to the river which runs through the valley, here the artisan suburbs of
Cesalonga, Conce and Fontenuova arose. It is not until the five hundreds that the
feudal nobility, who had occupied the numerous castles, still to be found in the
countryside today, will build their splendid buildings in the market square, where
the inhabitants went about their everyday business. You can still see between the
business area and the slopes of the hills the fabric of the town which is made up of
lanes and small houses, packed one against the other and clinging to the walls for
protection (a particularly evocative square is Piazza Padella, so called because it
is in the shape of a frying-pan)
Piazza del Popolo
The Modern Art Gallery in the Town Hall, Feronia Theatre
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Lorenzo Losito
Itinerario a San Severino Marche
It is not by chance that the monumental Piazza del Popolo is considered to be one
of the most beautiful in the Marche.
It is particularly striking for its convex shape, this came about when the two street
routes descended from the castle towards the river. Its dignified aspect is thanks to
the many colonnaded noble buildings which look onto the square, the Town Hall
being the most important, in the six hundreds this Town Hall replaced the
medieval public building which used to be at the Castle. On the noble floor there
are many period rooms like the sumptuous Council Chamber and the Modern Art
Gallery, here you can see numerous works by artists from San Severino like
Filippo Bigioli who was extremely successful with the aristocratic papal Rome at
the beginning of the 9th century. Near the clock tower is The Feronia Theatre, a
jewel of the Marchegiano theatrical architecture, by Ireneo Aleandri, an architect
from San Severino who also built the magnificent Arena Sferisterio in Macerata.
The drop curtain is particularly precious as it was painted on a sketch by Bigioli.
Municipal Art Gallery
This is one of the oldest and richest art galleries in the Marche. It exhibits works
of art which were painted for the town between the 4 th and 7th century by artists
from other towns and by those of the local school of art which established itself at
the beginning of the 5th century as one of the most avant-garde in Europe. Here
you may find those fundamental chapters of the history of Italian art, like the
polyptych by Paolo Veneziano, a 4th century work of art from the Adriatic, and
one of the Venetian works of art that managed to penetrate deepest into the
Marchegiano territory, entering an area that had already inserted itself fully into
the Giottesque climate. The Madonna dell’Umiltà by Allegretto Nuzi from
Fabrianois what this area’s painting is all about, an area that was raised by Giotto,
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
protagonist of the Florentine artistic scene at the turn of the second half of the 14 th
century. There is a very rich collection of the works of art by the Salimbeni
brothers, who coinciding with the dominion of the seigniory of the Smeducci dela
Scala, proposed to San Severino a less elaborate and more vernacular version of
the flamboyant gothic, thus immortalising on the walls of the town’s churches,
stories of everyday medieval life in San Severino, this was executed with an
incomparable comic power and an extremely cutting fund of narrative inventions.
Among the many works of art by the “Severinati” brothers, founders of the local
art school, that stand out are the triptych dating back to the 1400s (a first in the
new development of art), and the stories of San Giovanni Evangelista both from
the Duomo Antico at the Castle. Fundamental in the development of the local
school are the two polyptychs dating back to the 5 th century and which were
brought to San Severino after the the second half of the 15 th century; one of the
polyptychcs is by the Venetian Vittore Crivelli, and is one of his most engaging
and precious works, even the intaglio of the frame is extremely ornate, while the
other polyptych is by Niccolò di Liberatore from Fabriano, who established in
these panels the highest figurative pietism from Umbria. The Madonna della Pace
del Pinturicchio is considered by all critics as one of the artist’s best panel works ,
it is bathed in dawn’s deep lyricism, this highlights the talented virtuosi of the
Roman period when the artist afrescoed the Borgia apartments in the Vatican and
was summoned by Liberato Franchi Bartelli of San Severino, who is depicted in
the painting. Worth a visit are the Priory seats, inlaid by the Acciaccaferri brothers
and separated from the rest of the chorus of the Duomo Antico which is still in
place, the latter chorus was by their famous maestro Domenico Indivini of San
Severino. Maestro Indivini had a workshop in the town where he created the
precious marquetry for the chorus of the Basilica Superiore of Saint Frances of
Assisi.
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Doliolo
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
It is one of the oldest and most striking churches of the town, probably built on the
remains of the temple dedicated to the Goddess Feronia where the future Bishop
retired to live a life as a hermit, he later became patron saint of San Severino in
the 6th century. The epitaph “doliolo” comes from the custom perpetrated for
centuries during the festivities by the monks who lived here, they offered wine to
the people in the “doliolum”, a wineskin. The church which is an imposing and
solid Roman building, was in fact a Benedictine Abbey with dozens of land
rights. In the crypt and vestry, ex-refectory of the monastery, there are many
affrescoes by the Salimbeni brothers and by their school. Of particular
importance, considering the condition and the wonderful creations, are the stories
of Saint Andrew in the crypt and the stories of Saint Eustachio in the vestry, both
in wonderful sepia monochrome; unfortunately most of the green monochrome of
the two large ogival vaults in the vestry, where there are stoies of the twelve
months, are ruined. It is a most suitable subject for the verve of the “Salimbeni”
language. Even the position of the bell tower is bizarre, it overlaps the façade, and
as a consequence we have a tower-entrance, no other solution was possible
because of the position of the hillside on the right-hand side; it was built at the
beginning of the 14th century in the same way as many other towers in San
Severino in that period (such as San Domenico, Sant’Agostino and Duomo
Antico): a tower with a sturdy body and no steeple, it is broken up with a series of
hanging arches, and on every façade there is a double lancet window within a
blind arch where you can see an oculus in its pendentive. This architectural
uniformity is due to the immense amount of work in those years in San Severino
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
by the Comacine masters who were probably employed by the seigniory of the
Smeducci.
The Monumental Area of Castello al Monte
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Lorenzo Losito
Itinerario a San Severino Marche
Right at the top of Monte Nero are the medieval symbols of power, even today
they are the town’s symbols. The Tower of the Municipality, which was called at
a later date the Smeducci Tower, stands facing the Piazzale degli Smeducci, built
in the 13th Century, here you can see the bas-relief of the Ghibelline Leone
Passante, the faction San Severino adhered to during the continual battle against
the Guelphs of Camerino. Higher up is another bas-relief, but a controversial one:
it may represent the stairs/ladder of the Smeducci coat of arms, but tradition
claims that it represents a horse’s bit which was placed there by the Smeducci
family on their return from one of their many hunts to prove that from then on the
town would be held with the use of horses. To the right of the tower there is the
long four-sided wall, a part of which has majestic blind Gothic arches, these
surround the garden of the cloistered monastery of Saint Chiara. Then there is
what remains of the Consular building, and finally the Seigniory which is
completely ruined.
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Lorenzo Losito
Itinerario a San Severino Marche
On the opposite side there is the Duomo Antico, it conserves the remains of the
patron Saint San Severino, which according to legend was miraculously brought
here from the tomb of Settempeda after the barbaric ravages. The building dates
back to the year 1000 and this is evident through the building’s conspicuous
stratifications.The façade was rebuilt during the first part of the 14th century
following the Lombard style which was introduced by the Comacine masters. On
the left there is the tower which was built in the “Severinate” style. The interior
was restored in the 600s and here, together with the precious organ by Denis
Plouvier, is the splendid wooden chorus inlaid by Domenico Indivini at the end of
the 5th century, this work of art is comparable to the chorus in Assisi. To the left of
the church is the Episcopio (the Bishop’s palace) which conserves the impressive
cloister, this was rebuilt at the end of the 5 th century by the prior Liberato Franchi
Bartelli who purchased the Madonna della Pace del Pinturicchio. Within the
building there is the town’s rich archealogical collection which is made up of
finds dating from the Paleolithic times to the thriving Roman times of Settempeda.
In the Picene section the funerary equipment of the necropolis of Monte Penna, of
Ponte di Pitino and of Fustellano are conserved, they are among the finest
testimonies of this civilization.
The Cloister of San Domenico
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
San Domenico is situated outside the walls of San Severino. It was built in the
style of the 4th century on the already existing site of the church, Santa Maria del
Mercato. Since it was built outside the walls it had to be fortified, this explains the
continual occupation of the convent, it was used as a fort in a revolt against the
town by the “Camerti” troops and by the Rettori della Marca. Due to the damage
caused in the wars the church was reworked in the 7th century, here the bell
tower conserves wonderful late 4th century frescoes and inside the vestry , which
was part of a twin bell tower, are some frescoes by the Salimbeni brothers and by
Pietro da Rimini.
In the abside there is the superb altar-piece by Bernadino di Mariotto, heir of the
Perugian school of art at the beginning of the 6 th century.
The convent still conserves the monks’ cells, the refectory and other original
rooms. The extraordinary cloister is the town’s most impressive and spectacular
monument, with lunettes painted in the 7th century with stories of the Saint’s life.
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Lorenzo Losito
Itinerario a San Severino Marche
The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Glorioso
It is situated 1km from the town. It was built at the beginning of the 6 th century by
the architect Rocco di Vicenza when suddenly religion became popular after many
people having seen the statue of the Madonna in Pietà cry. The place immediately
became an important stop for the pilgrimages from Rome to Loreto. It is
astonishing for its noble architecture which is offset by the exquisitely rural
characteristics of the setting. The exterior is dominated by the monumental 8 th
century dome which is covered in lead. The inside faithfully respects the original
project with the frames in gypsum, these highlight the pure elastic volumes.
Between the 6th and 7th centuries the noble families and the brotherhoods of the
town competed in decorating the chapels that they had patronaged. Recent
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
restoration has brought to light the frescoes which were executed during the first
decorative campaign of the temple and which are in excellent condition. The
iconographic contents of many of these works are particularly impressive, like the
Madonna del Soccorso, the Sant’Antonio Abate or the Sant’Isidoro, all revealing a
popular and candid piety. Inside the votive chapel below the dome is the crying
Vesperbaild, above this there is a statue of the Risen Christ, the Glorioso. This
caused the change of name of the Marian sanctuary from”Grilluso” or
“Grilluloso” (in dialect this means “where there are many crickets”) to Santa
Maria del Glorioso.
Church of the Maestà di Parolito
The church, which was originally a votive one, was built in the second half of the
5th century on the site of a shrine of La Maestà near Parolito in the countryside.
The small temple conserves wonderful votive frescoes by Lorenzo D’Alessandro,
the greatest artist of the Severinate school of art since the Salimbeni brothers. The
immages of Parolito are icons of highly poetical value influenced by Piero della
Francesca, indeed the figures within are surrounded by a radiant light which also
reflects Lorenzo D’Alessando’s everlasting style.
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Itinerario a San Severino Marche
Ristorazione
Ricettività
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