Santa Maria in Piazza is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located in Piazza Matteoti in the town of

Loro Piceno Loro Piceno is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about south of Ancona and about south of Macerata on a hill near the Fiastra Fiastra is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of M ...

province of Macerata The province of Macerata () is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Macerata. The province contains 55 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''), listed in the ''comuni'' of the province of Macerata. Located between the rivers ...

, in the region of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, Italy.

History

The church was built originally in the 12th century by the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

order. It became property over the next century of the Abbey of Fiastra. In 1452, the church was officiated by

secular clergy In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. Secular priests (sometimes known as diocesan priests) are priests who commit themselves to a certain geograph ...

and in 1597, it belonged to the diocese of

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...

. The brick façade has an elaborate portal with an ogival tympanum and floral motifs, showing both Romanesque and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

influences. The Exterior wall have a votive niche with a repainted 15th century fresco of the ''Madonna del Soccorso''. The main altar in 1581 had a wooden tabernacle maintained by the Confraternity of the Corpo di Cristo and del Sacramento. It was flanked by a number of reliquaries. The main altarpiece was a ''Virgin and Saints'' painted by Vittore Crivelli, stolen during the Napoleonic invasions. The nave was flanked by three altars on the right, one dedicated to

San Venanzo San Venanzo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Terni in the Italian region Umbria, located about southwest of Perugia and about northwest of Terni. San Venanzo borders the following municipalities: Ficulle, Fratta Todina, ...

; a second to the Madonna della Misericordia, housing a fresco of the Crucifixion; and a third altar of the Crucifixion with a venerated crucifix, putatively containing a relic of the sacred spine. On the left, were the altars of San Bartolomeo, Santa Maria di Loreto, and St

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. The coat of arms of the Bishop of Buoi was once above the baptismal font, it is now to the right of the entrance.Comune of Loro Piceno
entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria in Piazza Loro Piceno Gothic architecture in le Marche

12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy