What to see in Matelica, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Piazza Mattei, Palazzo Pretorio, Duomo, Piersanti Museum and Church of San Francesco.
Tourist information
Founded in Roman times on a hill in the Esino valley, Matelica was the bishop's seat and free municipality in 1175.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century it was governed by the Signoria degli Ottoni, later it passed under the Papal States.
Palazzo Pretorio, dating back to the thirteenth century, is flanked by the Civic Tower, while piazza Mattei as a whole, with a central fountain, is surrounded by elegant buildings, including the Loggia degli Ottoni, the Suffragio Church, inside which is located a remarkable painting by Salvator Rosa, the fifteenth-century Palazzo Ottoni and the Palazzo Comunale, the latter of the historical archive, where very interesting ancient parchments are kept.
What see
The Duomo, remodeled in the early 1900s, includes a bell tower from the 1400s and an interior with three naves reorganized in the Renaissance style.
The Piersanti Museum, located inside the fifteenth century palace of the same name, preserves valuable works of art, including tapestries, designs by Guercino and Barocci, as well as seventeenth-century Italian school paintings, antique furniture, a triptych by Francesco di Gentile and the Crucifix, work created by Antonio da Fabriano in 1452.
The Church of Sant'Agostino, dating back to the fourteenth century, has a wonderful Romanesque portal, while inside there is a canvas worthy of note.
The Church of San Francesco, with a thirteenth-century Romanesque portal from the previous building, contains within it some paintings of high artistic value, including the remarkable sixteenth-century Madonna and Child Enthroned and Saints, made by Marco Palmezzano.
