Santa Vittoria in Matenano

In the year 898, while the Saracens were plundering and destroying the Abbey of Farfa, Abbot Peter from Sabina moved with his brethren to Piceno.

The fortification built by Peter on Matenano Hill in the early 10th century, availed itself of a strong defensive posture, and received in 934 the precious relics of the venerated Saint Victoria, martyr Sabina.

Santa Vittoria in Matenano reached the height of its prosperity and territorial power when in 1357 it became the seat of the Presidato Farfense, an administrative body with extensive legal prerogatives over the entire Piceno territory.

Having become a free commune in the 13th century, the Castle of Santa Vittoria was endowed with a body of its own by-laws as early as 1446. Also at the Monastery of Santa Vittoria, in the mid-15th century, thanks to the work of Frà Marino Angeli, a school of painting of solid character was formed and of considerable influence on Picene art of the time. Following the demolitions of 1771, on the top of the hill, lonely in the scenery of the Parco delle Rimembranze looms the Church of the Resurrection, features a central altar with twisted columns and the elegant statue of Christ; from here one enters the Chapel of the Innocents, also known as the Farfense oratory.

The Collegiate Church, located lower down, is a solid and imposing neoclassical building with a three-aisle layout and Latin cross; among the canvases on display is Sebastiano Ghezzi’s Preaching of St. John the Baptist. The wide Corso Matteotti constitutes the main artery of the Castle. A meeting place and representative street, it qualifies as a long square at the head of which stands the tall 14th-century tower of Abbot Odorisio, a fine example of a gate – crenellated tower, but also a civic tower.

Along the course note the Renaissance elevations of the Della Torre Palace, Palazzo Melis, the church of St. Augustine with the adjoining convent that currently houses the Town Hall and offers a fine 16th-century cloister.

The texture of the minor streets, given by a heterogeneous succession of green spaces, foreshortenings all made harmonious by the chromatic tones of brick, gives a feeling of recollection, measure and silence.

Monuments, churches

• Tower of Abbot Odorisio (13th cent.)
• Lion Municipal Theater, built on the former courtyard of Abbot Odorisio’s residence (13th cent.)
• Palazzo Gentilizio Monti – Sepe (18th cent.)
• Della Torre Palace (15th cent.)
• Church and monastery St. Augustine, now municipal residence (16th cent.)
• Melis Palace (16th cent.)
• Benedictine Monastery (17th cent.)
• Shrine of V.M. Victory (18th cent.)
• Church of the Resurrection (15th cent.)
• Frescoes by Fra Marino Angeli (15th cent.)
• Church of Our Lady of the Angels (14th cent.)

Other attractions to visit

• Remembrance Park
• St. Francis Park
• Belvedere – Francesco Squarcia Avenue
• Farfense Wine Shop

Local traditions

Food and wine: wine-pork-oil-baccalà-stockfish
Trivia and anecdotes: To live calm and healthy returns to the Matenano