Santa Maria Assunta di Castelnuovo 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 on Via Angelo Giunta in the town limits of

Recanati Recanati () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Macerata, in the Italian region of Marche. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th c ...

, province of Macerata, 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. It is the oldest church structure in town.

History

A church at the site was present by the mid-12th century, built initially in Romanesque-style and affiliated with a

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 ...

monastery, derived and subsidiary to the Abbey of

Fonte Avellana Fonte Avellana or the Venerable Hermitage of the Holy Cross, is a Roman Catholic hermitage in Serra Sant'Abbondio in the Marche region of Italy. It was once also the name of an order of hermits based at this hermitage. History Fonte Avellana was ...

. By the 17th century, the church became property of the Bishop of Recanati. The gabled facade was refurbished in the thirteenth century: into the facade are inserted two

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 ( ...

round rose windows, one semicircular lunette window, and a rounded stone portal decorated with a bas-relief of the ''Madonna Enthroned with Archangels Michael and Gabriel'' (1253) sculpted by Mastro Nicola Anconetano. The bell-tower at the rear of the church dates to the 12th century, and was found to have 15th-century fresco fragments inside that are attributed to Pietro da Recanati. The Romanesque interior is subdivided into a nave and two lateral aisles by sturdy pilasters and rounded arches. The presbytery with the altar is separated by flanking arches from the nave, a separation common in churches belonging to cloistered orders. The stone cross, currently above the baptismal font, was formerly in the central rose window. A fresco depicting a ''Madonna and Child'' is attributed to

Pietro di Domenico da Montepulciano Pietro di Domenico da Montepulciano (active 1418 - 1422) was an Italian painter active in the Marche region. Biography He was like born in Montepulciano nelle Marche (apparently a neighborhood near Filottrano in the province of Ancona). Other sou ...

. Among the paintings once in this church was a ''Transfiguration'' by

Lorenzo Lotto Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556/57) was an Italian Renaissance painter, draughtsman, and illustrator, traditionally placed in the Venetian school, though much of his career was spent in other north Italian cities. He painted mainly altarpie ...

and a

polyptych A polyptych ( ; Greek: ''poly-'' "many" and ''ptychē'' "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) which is divided into sections, or panels. Some definitions restrict "polyptych" to works with more than three sections: a diptych is ...

by Guglielmo Veneziano, both housed by 12016 in the Pinacoteca of

Villa Colloredo Mels Villa Colloredo Mels is a suburban palace located on Via Gregorio XII, on the western edge of the urban center of Recanati, province of Macerata, Marche, Italy. It presently houses the civic archeologic and art museum of the town. History The vill ...

. The church also once had an altarpiece depicting the ''Conversion of St Paul'' by

Felice Damiani Felice Damiani or Felice da Gubbio (1530–1608) was an Italian painter of the Mannerism, Late Renaissance or Mannerism period. Biography He was a pupil of Benedetto Nucci in Gubbio. Because of his lively colouring, he was nicknamed the ''Paolo ...

, and a ''Virgin and Child with St Catherine of Alexandria'' by

Andrea Pasqualino Marini Andrea Pasqualino Marini (c. 1660 - after 1712) was an Italian painter active in the Marche region in a late-Baroque style. Biography He was born in Recanati, in the province of Macerata. He appears to have trained in Rome, either under Carlo Mar ...

.Memorie istoriche della città di Recanati nella Marca d'Ancona
by Padre Diego Calcagni (1711), page 291-292.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Assunta di Castelnuovo, Recanati Roman Catholic churches in Recanati