Sant'Elpidio a Mare

Geography

Sant'Elpidio a Mare is on a ridge of Marche Apennine, elevation 251 metres (823 ft) above sea level, between the lower river valleys of the river Tenna and Ete Morto, 9 kilometres (6 mi) from the Adriatic Sea.

History

The town was originally named Cluana. The village of Cluana acquired Saint Elpidius' relics in the seventh century in exchange for the donation of a piece of land. The relics of Elpidius and his companions Eustace and Ennesius were consigned to the local inhabitants, and the town later acquired the new name of Sant'Elpidio a Mare. The relics of Elpidius are considered to have saved the town from a Lombard siege; tradition states that the saint appeared in the sky asking the inhabitants to defend the village.

The city occupies the territory belonged to Cluana, the ancient Roman city bathed by the river Chienti and destroyed by the Goths in the early 400s. In 887, one of the oldest and most powerful Benedictine abbeys of the Marches' "Imperial Abbey of the Holy Cross to Chienti" was founded. The medieval village with the name of the Castle of Sant 'Elpidio, located in the eleventh century on the hill on top of which is home to the Church of Our Lady of Light. Elevated to the rank of a free commune in 1250, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor ordered the construction of a port between the rivers Chienti and Tenna. In later centuries it attracted the bitter hostility from neighboring Fermo. Destroyed in 1328 by the mercenary troops from Monteverde, it was destroyed again by the Ghibelline Rinaldo from Monteverde in 1376 and in 1377.

In 1380 the Elpidiensi rebuilt the country of the church on the hill at the top of the Piazza Giacomo Matteotti is bounded by the Parish of Sant'Elpidio Abate, from the tower of Jerusalem, Lateranenze the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy and the town hall. In 1431, the army of Francesco Sforza breached the walls and sacked the town. In 1797, on the hill of the Capuchins General Rusca Army of Napoleon Bonaparte local Militias loyal to the Pope and encompasses the country in the Department of Tronto, with capital Fermo. In 1828, Pope Leo XII issued a bull which bestowed city status on it. During the Second World War, the territory was administered by the Italian Social Republic. In 1952, Porto Sant 'Elpidio became an independent municipality, for which the territory of the municipality decreases of 18.14 km².

Toponym

The historical name of locality is documented by a parchment eleventh century was "Sancto Elpidio Majore" to distinguish it from other places in Sant'Elpidio Morico Brand Fermana. The abbreviation of "majore" in "ma.re" is then changed to "the sea".

Imperial Abbey of the Holy Cross to Chienti

Founded, according to tradition, in 887 on a pre-existing religious edifice. The heyday of the Benedictine abbey is between the tenth and the twelfth century in which benefits from expansions in the Romanesque style. In 1790 the bishop stop Minnucci reduces the abbey complex structure for agricultural use decreeing his downfall and reducing the area of the functions to one central nave. After more than two centuries of neglect to misuse the basilica structure is affected by a restoration began in March 2006 aimed at restoration of primitive type and the consequent re-opened to the public, took place in 2010.

Church of Our Lady of the Enlightenment

It was built in the thirteenth century with the original name of St. Augustine Church. The King of France during the fourteenth ecumenical council, which opened in Lyon 7 May 1274 and ending 17 July 1274 gives a sign of deep devotion to the Blessed Clement eminent personality of the Augustinian Order, was beatified by Pope Clement XIII in 1761, a plug the crown of Jesus Christ. The Friar donates Precious Gift to the Convent of Sant 'Elpidio when studied among others St. Nicholas of Tolentino and St. James of the Marches. Entering the Parish Sant'Elpidio Abate to the right of the Pavisa depicts the Blessed Clement with the Holy Thorn welcomed by Elpidiensi. On the night of 8 September 1377 the army led by Rinaldo from Monteverde deprived the Church of the Precious Relic which is currently preserved in the Church of St. Augustine in Fermo. Ancient Temple is the base, most of the high facade and inside the marble altar in Gothic style built in 1371 in Istrian stone to accommodate the precious relic and the painting of Our Lady of the Enlightenment of the fifteenth century depicting the Madonna and Child. [3].

Parish Sant'Elpidio Abate

Built in the 13th century as a parish church, in 1590 the church was granted the title of Collegiate simple, and while in 1591 Pope Gregory XIV raised it to the Illustrious and Collegiate. Finally in 1857, it was made Perinsigne Collegiate by Pope Pius IX. The church preserves the original Romanesque apse and a large part of the external structure. The facade built in the after 1935 in neo-Romanesque style boasts the presence of a rose and a mosaic in the lunette of the portal depicting Sant'Elpidio supported by the Disciples Ennesio and Eustathius. Facing the piazza Giacomo Matteotti, five windows derive from the 13th century church, the remainder date from the 1639 refurbishment. The interior was refurbished in neoclassical style. Behind the main altar of the 16th century has received a relief of a Roman sarcophagus in Parian marble of the 4th century depicting a hunting scene with the lion and it houses the bones of the patron Sant'Elpidio Abate and the Disciples Sant'Ennesio and Sant'Eustasio.

Above the high altar Nicola Monti made at the end of the eighteenth century a framework in which depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Assumption. The exhibition altar dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto, built in Baroque style by Angelo Scoccianti in the right transept of the church in 1702, is the largest of the Marches. The wooden work whose beauty is enhanced by the presence of gilding, contains two leaves of the junction which creates a high relief of the Annunciation, the statue of Our Lady of Loreto. The left transept houses a painting by Jacopo Palma il Giovane depicting the feet of Christ and St. Anthony Sant'Elpidio. The Church has a baptismal font in the Renaissance style. The organ built in 1765 by Gaetano Callido and placed above the main entrance is one of the most impressive works of the author. The large marble balustrade, built in the mid-nineteenth century to a design by the architect Salvatori, is decorated with four bronze statues depicting Sant'Elpidio Abbot, Blessed Clemente Briotti, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Catherine of Siena, and defines Chorus and the statues of the Madonna and Sant'Elpidio. The Treasure of the Parish hosts the liturgical vestment worn by Cardinal Cesare Brancadoro.

Church of St. John

It was the church of the Monastery of the Benedictine Sisters dedicated to St. John. The facade built in the nineteenth century stands at the beginning of Via Cunicchio.

Church of St. Augustine

Originally dedicated to St Anthony in the 14th-century, after the destruction of the Augustinian convent in 1377, the church was rededicated to St Augustine. It features a baroque facade with a stone portal (1505) decorated with candelabra of 1505. The church was rebuilt in 1760 and deconsecrated in the early twentieth century. It once housed religious services during the restoration of the interior of the parish of Abbot Sant'Elpidio the beginning of the twenty-first century, including the altar of the Blessed Clemente Briotti, now returned to Church of Sant'Elpidio Abate. The interior is graced by a carved choir stalls(1760). It also had an oil canvas depicting the Madonna in Glory with Child and Saints, by Vincenzo Pagani, now in the Pinacoteca of Ripatransone.

San Francesco

Built in the fourteenth century, the church contains inside a canvas (1564) by Tizianello and two paintings by Giovanni Battista Ripani.

Maria Santissima della Misericordia

On June 1, 1939, a small church at the site was built by the Archconfraternity of Maria della Misericordia as an ex-voto for the ebbing of the Bubonic plague. Construction of the present Basilica Lateranense began in 1575. The church houses an altarpiece depicting the Miracle of Santa Marta (1602) by Andrea Lilio; frescoes (1603) by Andrea Boscoli; and the nave has three frescoes depicting Birth of Mary, Marriage of the Virgin, and a Madonna della Misericordia (17th century) by Cristoforo Roncalli. Since 1974 it housese a modern church organ.

Church of San Giuseppe

Construction began in 1576 along with former Convent of the Capuchins. In 1758, the paintings depicting the Dream of St. Joseph and the Marriage of the Virgin were completed by Filippo Ricci.

Church of San Filippo Neri

Begun in 1735 and completed in 1789, the vaulted ceiling was painted with tempera technique by Giovan Battista Ripani. The nave is surrounded by Corinthian columns with statues of St. Peter and Paul and paintings depicting the Marriage of the Virgin, an Adoration of the Shepherds, and a Trinity, the Virgin and the Angels. The church houses the altarpiece depicting The Ecstasy of San Filippo Neri who explains the text "Dilatasti Cor Meum" by of Nicola Monti, and held on the altar by two cherubim. The church also has four canvases by Carlo Gavardini from top left "The Annunciation" from the lower left "The Visitation" right on top "Flight into Egypt", right below "The Presentation in the Temple." The Church preserves the organ (1794) by the Venetian master Gaetano Callido.

Oratorio dei Filippini

Built in the eighteenth century on the instructions of the architect Giuseppe Valadier.

Sacred Heart Church

Creation of the nineteenth century.

Church of the Blessed Sacrament

The church was built in the thirteenth century by the Knights of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem was later almost completely rebuilt, is an exception portal of entry remained intact.

Church of St Catherine

Church of the Convent of Friars Minor Tower Jerusalem Flow through in the sixteenth century by the Knights Hospitallers (one of the variants of the name of the order that was born in Jerusalem in 1048 by the Merchants of Maritime Republic of Amalfi, they decided to form a church in the Holy City, a convent and a hospital), the tower was built at the highest point of the city. The square tower is about 28 metres (92 ft) high and about 8.19 metres (26.9 ft) long. It is characterized by outer walls 1.60 metres (5.2 ft) thick and a floor plan reminiscent of the Cross of St. John. The front door is surmounted by a lunette of tenth-century early Christian relief that is an allegorical figure of the Crucifixion of Christ. An element indicates that the tradition comes from the Abbey of the Holy Cross at the Imperial Chienti. In the second half of the seventeenth century, on the tower were added two bells, the largest is dedicated to Christ, the Virgin Mary, to St. Nicholas and Sant'Elpidio, patron of the town, and on the east side of the tower in place of a mechanical watch below the eight-pointed cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and above an altar (1893) dedicated to the protagonists of the unification of Italy: Vittorio Emanuele II, Camillo Benso Conte di Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi and Giuseppe Mazzini.

Walls

The town contains the remains of 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of the walls thirteenth and fourteenth century) Medieval and only three of the seven original doors. Via Towers offers a magnificent view of the surrounding municipalities and of the Sibillini Mountains.

Port Channel

The defensive architecture built in the fourteenth century, is the only original door still intact. On its walls was set in 1527, a stone bas-relief depicting Sant'Elpidio a horse appeared in a battle against the Saracens.

Porta Marina

Rebuilt at the beginning of the nineteenth century after being destroyed by the cannons of Napoleon's army in 1797.

Porta Romana

Entirely rebuilt during the fascist era (1930).

Town Hall

Built in the fourteenth century to perform the function of the Palazzo dei Priori, was renovated in the sixteenth century following the directions of the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi. The facade is in classic style. It houses a historical archive.

Theatre Louis Cicconi

1870 made the construction of a project by Irenaeus Aleandri retains only the neoclassical façade. The interior has been completely redone in the years 1952 to 1953.

Fountain of Pupa

Made to celebrate the installation of the water supply of the city. Launched on 16 September 1907.

Marquis of Santa Caterina

The complex built in the eighteenth century by the family of Nannerini is enriched in some rooms with frescoes on the walls. The historical archives of the Falconi Family testifies to the social prestige covered by the penultimate owners of the villa. The Church of St. Catherine in which the parish is the heart of the same name.

Villa Brancadoro

The building retains the walls next to the tower of an ancient monastery of the thirteenth century.

Palazzo Montalto Nannerini

The Palace of Cardinal Peretti Montalto nephew of Sixtus V, becomes the property of the Marquis of Nannerini Nannarini, then the order of the Oblates Salesian Monastery, the Benedictine Nuns, and finally the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Now its rooms are home to the Contrada San Giovanni.

Palace Brancadoro

Built in the early nineteenth century by Cardinal Cesare Brancadoro.

Other Palaces

These include the Palazzi (Palaces) of Bartolucci Godolini, Errighi, Sinibaldi Odoardim and Fassitelli.

Archives

Keep manuscripts dating from the ninth century, parchment, Papal Bullae and Imperial.

Civic art gallery

Located in the ancient convent of the Fillipines, contains within it the Coronation of the Virgin Altarpiece of the fifteenth century by Vittore Crivelli consists of 18 panels made with the technique of egg tempera on wood in which the painter depicts top from left to right St. Anthony of Padua, Sant'Elpidio, Madonna, The Messiah, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Bernardine of Siena, in the center from left to right St Bonaventure, St John the Baptist, The Coronation of the Virgin, St Francis of Assisi, St Louis of Toulouse, and the bottom six small panels.

Within the picture gallery are preserved two other works by the painter Veneto, a triptych depicting "Visitation of the Virgin to St. Elizabeth," which consists of four panels made with the technique of egg tempera on wood and a painting of a Franciscan. Outstanding are the works by De Hernestus Schaychis Madonna del Rosario, Nicola Monti Virgin with Child in her arms and Jerome Tooth Assumption of the Virgin. The building restored by the architect Giuseppe Valadier, it also houses the hall of silver which contains fine works of gold and silver produced from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth century. The art collection contains works of contemporary graphic Bruscaglia, Cagli, Capozucca, Ciarrocchi, Licata, Pierleoni Offidani, Sanchini and Trubbiani.

Shoe museum

The museum house slippers, clogs, sandals, shoes and boots products from the Middle Ages as well as in Italy and in other European countries, India, China, Africa, Canada and Latin America. The museum also houses antique prints, calzatoi and equipment and machinery that shoemakers have used in the past for the production of their product. The museum is also home to the shoes worn by Popes Leo XIII, Pope John XXIII and John Paul II.

Fossil museum

Set within the Noble Contrada of St. John houses artifacts of the era Paleozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic, Neozoic.

Astronomical observatory

Inaugurated on 8 December 1986 through the efforts of Professor John Tombolini, who was responsible for the creation and management. It has a reflecting telescope of 254 millimetres (10.0 in) in diameter and is open to the public on Mondays from 22:00 to 24:00. In 2005 also the Astrophysics and scientific Disclosing Italian Margherita Hack crossed the front door of the structure that has had the honor of hosting the first national seminar of gnomonic.

Patron saint

It occurs on 2 September of each year.

Contention bucket

Born in 1953 is the first reenactment of the Marches (second Sunday of August).

City Middle Ages

Established in 1993 to commemorate the life of the city in the fourteenth century (the last week of July).

Notable people