Santissima Annunziata was a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the
Annunciation
The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
in
Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno (; ; ) is a (municipality) and capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche.
Geography
The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto, River Tronto and the small Castellano (river), River Castell ...
, Italy. It is located in the Parco dell'Annunziata. The whole complex was the result of extensions to an original 13th century set of buildings.
[ Erminia Tosti Luna, ''art. cit.'', p. 20.]
History
The complex on the site was built on the 'Grotte dell'Annunziata', ancient Roman remains at the top of the Colle dell'Annunziata.
It originally housed a hospital until 1250,
[ G. Carducci, ''op. cit.,'' p. 209.][ G. Marinelli, ''op. cit.,'' p. 34] when
Peter of Verona
Peter of Verona (1205 – April 6, 1252), also known as Saint Peter Martyr and Saint Peter of Verona, was a 13th-century Italian Catholic priest. He was a Dominican friar and a celebrated preacher. He served as Inquisitor in Lombardy, was ki ...
handed it over to
Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Augustinian religious order. Named after Augustine of Hippo, there are several Catholic religious communities of women living according to a guide to religious life known as the ...
.
These nuns built the small church and the earliest and largest of the two surviving cloisters in the 14th century
- that cloister is square in plan and surrounded by a portico of octagonal pilasters supporting a
loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...
to
The complex was handed over to nuns of the
order of saint Monica in 1444 and then put under the oversight of the
Franciscans
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
in Ascoli in 1481.
[ A. Rodilossi, ''op. cit.,'' p. 205.] For a long time, starting in 1482, the people of the city processed to the church every 25 March in memory of
pope Sixtus IV
Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...
granting the city 'Libertà Ecclesiastica'. At the centre of the smaller cloister is a 15th century well.
A 17th century local historian, Sebastiano Andreantonelli, described the complex as the "seventh convent in Ascoli", still run in his time by the Franciscans.
[ S. Andreantonelli, ''Storia di Ascoli'', Traduzione di P. B. Castelli e A. Cettoli – Indici e note di G. Gagliardi, p. 286.] In 1882 the complex buildings were made the headquarters of the first 'Practical School of Agriculture of Italy' and then in 1924 of the ''Scuola Media Agraria''.
In 1933 they were converted into an orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity and renamed the ''Conservatorio Regina Margherita''.
The complex's buildings were then abandoned for a long period but now house the Scuola di Architettura e Design, Unicam.
Art
The church originally housed ''
The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius
''The Annunciation, with Saint Emidius'' is an altarpiece by Italian artist Carlo Crivelli showing an artistic adaptation of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is a religious event described in the Bible which involves the archangel Gabriel appea ...
'' by Crivelli (
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current dire ...
), ''Blessed
James of the Marches
James may refer to:
People
* James (given name)
* James (surname)
* James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician
* James, brother of Jesus
* King James (disambiguation), various kings named James
* Prince Ja ...
'' (
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
) and ''Polyptych with the Virgin and Saints'' (present location unknown). A 1519
lunette
A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be ...
mural of ''Christ's Climb to Cavalry'' by
Cola dell'Amatrice
Nicola Filotesio (9 September 1480 iffering sources give 1489€”31 August 1547 ources also give 1559 was an Italian painter, architect and sculptor of the Renaissance period, active primarily in or near the town of Ascoli Piceno (modern capital ...
hangs on the west side of what was the refectory
The work belongs to his early period and was restored in the first half of the 19th century after damage by the Napoleonic army.
References
Bibliography (in Italian)
* Sebastiano Andreantonelli, ''Historiae Asculanae'', Padova, Typis Matthaei de Cadorinis, 1673.
* Giambattista Carducci, ''Su le memorie e i monumenti di Ascoli nel Piceno'', Fermo, Saverio Del Monte, 1853.
* Antonio Rodilossi, ''Ascoli Piceno città d'arte'', Modena, "Stampa & Stampa" Gruppo Euroarte Gattei, Grafiche STIG, 1983.
* Sebastiano Andreantonelli, ''Storia di Ascoli'', Traduzione di Paola Barbara Castelli e Alberto Cettoli – Indici e note di Giannino Gagliardi, Ascoli Piceno, G. e G. Gagliardi Editori, Centro Stampa Piceno, giugno 2007.
* Erminia Tosti Luna, ''Un'antica torre da valorizzare'' in Flash Ascoli - mensile di vita Picena, N. 367, anno 2008, p. 20.
* Giuseppe Marinelli, ''Dizionario Toponomastico Ascolano'' - ''La Storia, i Costumi, i Personaggi nelle Vie della Città '', Ascoli Piceno, D'Auria Editrice, 2009.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Roman Catholic churches in Ascoli Piceno