San Vito is a Romanesque-

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

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 ...

church located in central

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 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 Marche.

History

The church was once owned by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. In the second half of the 17th century, the church was rebuilt using designs of Pier Paolo Jacometti. The earthquake of 1741 damaged the facade, and in 1771, it was rebuilt in brick with coruscated solomonic columns flanking the portal, using a design by

Luigi Vanvitelli Luigi Vanvitelli (; 12 May 1700 – 1 March 1773), known in Dutch as (), was an Italian architect and painter. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practised a sober classicising academic Late Baroque style that made an ea ...

. The upper tympanum is rounded. The church contains paintings by Felice Damiano depicting ''San Vito al Circo Massimo'' (1582), by

Giuseppe Valeriani Giuseppe Valeriani (Russian: Джузеппе Валериани; before 1708, Rome April 18, 1762, Saint Petersburg) was an Italian artist who primarily painted murals and stage scenery. Biography Giuseppe Valeriani was born in Rome. Several ...

: ''Crucifixion'' (1550), and by

Paolo de Matteis Paolo de Matteis (also known as ''Paolo de' Matteis''; 9 February 1662 – 26 January 1728) was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter. Biography He was born in Piano Vetrale, a hamlet of Orria, in the current Province of Salerno, and died ...

''Holy Family and Saints'' (1727). From the first chapel on the right, one can access the oratory of the ''Congregation of the Nobili'', which holds an altarpiece depicting ''Presentation at the Temple'' by Pomarancio (

Cristoforo Roncalli Cristoforo Roncalli (c. 1552–1626) was an Italian mannerist painter. He was one of the three painters known as ''Pomarancio'' or ''Il Pomarancio''. Life Roncalli was born in Pomarance, a town near Volterra. His training occurred i ...

) and two canvases by

Pier Simone Fanelli Pier Simone Fanelli (29 December 1641 - 1703) was an Italian painter active in the Region of the Marche, active in a Baroque style. Biography He was born in Ancona and died in Cingoli. His training is unclear. By 1665-1666 he was painting in the ...

, and the Assumption by Latre. A young

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. Considered the greatest Italian poet of the 19th century and one of the greatest a ...

read sacred writings in this oratory. The oratory was restored in 2014.Ansa
December 2014 article.

References

Baroque architecture in Marche Roman Catholic churches in Recanati 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1771 {{Marche-RC-church-stub