San Filippo Benizi 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 ...

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style church in

Montefano Montefano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about north of Macerata. Montefano borders the following municipalities: Appignano, Filottrano, Montecassia ...

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 ...

, region of

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

, Italy. The church is dedicated to St

Philip Benizi Philip Benizi (sometimes Saint Philip Benitius, and in Italian Filippo Benizzi) (August 15, 1233 – August 22, 1285) was a general superior of the Order of the Servites, and credited with reviving the order. Biography Philip Benizi was born on ...

(1233-1285), credited with the revival of the Superior of the Order of the Servants of Mary.

History

The Servites moved a convent to Montefano in 1673 after closing another near Ginestreto. After the canonization of St Philip in 1671, the present brick church was built in 1694 to replace an ancient church. Consecration took place in 1703. The female convent was transiently suppressed during 1880-1897. The façade has two stories, flanked by pilasters, with a triangular pediment over the main door, and a rounded one over a superior window. A number of additions and ornaments were added over the next centuries. The chapel of our Lady of Sorrows was decorated by Tibalducci, a painter from

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 ...

. The oval portraits were painted by Nazzareno Aquilanti. The church and convent face a small piazza in the town. Adjacent to the church is a convent of the Servite order that also houses the Centro Studi Biblici Giovanni Vannucci, created in 1995 for biblical studies. The library houses nearly 10 thousand volumes.official website of Center for Biblical Studies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filippo Benizi Montefano Roman Catholic churches completed in 1694 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Marche 1694 establishments in Italy