The Collegiata di San Esuperanzio is a late- Romanesque and early-

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 ( ...

-style,

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 ...

collegiate church located on Via Sant'Esuperanzio, just northwest of the historic center of the town of

Cingoli Cingoli is a town and ''comune'' of the Marches, Italy, in the province of Macerata, about by road from the town of Macerata. It is the birthplace of Pope Pius VIII. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of I ...

, province of Macerata, 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 located some 300 meters north of the tip of the historic center. The road leading the Collegiata continues on to the main cemetery of the town.

History

The collegiate is first documented by 1139, when the property was assigned by

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

to monks of the

Fonte Avellana abbey Fonte means ''fountain'', ''source'' and/or ''spring'' in several languages, and is thus present in many toponyms and titles. It may also refer to: People * Allison Fonte (born 1964), American actress and pianist * Artur Fonte (born 1959), Portugu ...

. By the 13th-century, the church was dedicated to St Esuperanzio, patron and former bishop of Cingoli. The present church was rebuilt in this era in limestone and pink marble in a late- Romanesque and early-

-styles. The façade was intended to be sheathed in decorative marble, but remains unfinished in stone bricks. It has a small but delicate rose window in the center, and a single portal with a concave recession of a series of columns with a rounded arch. In the lunette is a sculpted image of the holy bishop Esuperanzio with angels. In the architrave are symbols of the evangelists and a gothic inscription. The work is attribute to a Master Giacomo of Cingoli, who also appears to have worked in the church of Santa Maria della Castellaretta and San Francesco in

Staffolo Staffolo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,304 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian ...

, as well as San Francesco and San Nicolò in Cingoli. To the right side of the church is the prior with three arches supporting a loggia. The interior is characterized by pointed gothic arches supporting the roof. The presbytery is raised to accommodate a crypt that held the relics of the Saint and attendant monks. One of the pillars in the presbytery has a 14th century seal carved in the sandstone with the words ''Sigillum Sanctae Crucis Fontis avellanae'', referring to the abbey. The interior has remnants of early frescoes, that encompassed the chapels erected by local aristocratic families that were found between the pillars. Two survive more intact that the others, the chapel of the Silvestri on the left, and of the Simonetti with Renaissance style altars and candelabra. The Simonetti chapel also has a 13th-century painted wooden crucifix. The church also contains 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 ...

attributed to Giovanni Antonio Bellinzoni da Pesaro and an altarpiece depicting the ''Flagellation'' attributed to

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerism, Mannerist periods, famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian School (art), Venetian scho ...

.Tourism site of the Marche
, entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esuperanzia Cingoli Romanesque architecture in le Marche Gothic architecture in le Marche 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Cingoli