The Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Montottone: a renaissance jewel

The beautiful ancient hamlet of Montottone has passed through centuries and centuries of history, from the late Middle Age to today, reaching us perfectly preserved in all its picturesque beauty. And it’s precisely there, deep in its streets and walls, that stands the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice.

An absolutely iconic place for this town in the province of Fermo, witness to the events and adventures that have made the history - spiritual and artistic, but not only - of Marca Fermana, and an essential stop for tourists looking for beauty.

To reach the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice it takes to start from the large square that separates the historic centre from the contemporary side of Montottone, today also used as a parking area for cars and buses, which is divided between Piazza Cifola and Piazza Roma. And right at the latter, next to a beautiful tree-lined viewpoint overlooking the relaxing landscape of the green hills of Le Marche, stands the tower of the ancient Porta Marina, the gate to the historic centre.

After passing the tower and immediately after, on the right, the artistic small fountain square, it takes to go on along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the main way of the medieval village of Montottone. This extremely fascinating road, at the end of which it’s possible to see the pointed bell tower of the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice and part of its Renaissance facade already, is perfect to stroll slowly, enjoying the glimpses of the most hidden alleys and admiring some of the most significant buildings in the history of the town, such as the former Government Palace and the current Town Hall, on whose facade stands out the coat of arms of Montottone carved in stone.

Continuing, finally a little further ahead there’s the small square at the foot of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, dominated by the majestic scenic presence of the church and a mysterious well, right in front of its portal.

It’s difficult to admire the beauty and refinement of the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, typically in renaissance style, without looking up to the steeple of its bell tower, or perhaps to the peculiar cross standing out on the top of its pediment. A glance certainly full of wonder, where the sky of Montottone seems to merge with the church itself since forever. Who knows how many people have felt this emotion along all these centuries!

The Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice boasts a very ancient history indeed, almost a thousand years old, rooted back to the crux of the Middle Ages, when the ancient castle of Mons Actonis was a flourishing fiefdom in the territory of Fermo.

Reconstructing the historical sources, the first testimonies reporting the existence of the church, originally part of a hospital, date back to the end of 1300’s, a particularly intense moment for the town engaged in a real ascent for the independence from Fermo. The construction of the religious building - much smaller than today’s one and still not acknowledged by its current name - was commissioned by a certain lady Maria Bianca as a private property of Brancadori, originally from the current territory of Macerata, and already resulted fully completed before 1479 from a papal seal issued by Pope Sixtus IV.

A very important date was 1515, the core of the Renaissance, when a new seal issued by Pope Leo X granted Montottone the possibility of significantly expanding and embellishing the original temple, giving it the official name of Santa Maria del Buon Gesù for the first time. Therefore, important architectural and artistic restoration works were begun, in particular with the construction of a new robust gabled facade made of cotto tiles and a new portal, equipped with two ornamental columns and a pediment recalling classic art.

In the following centuries the church was constantly enriched and expanded, both physically and spiritually, with the internal transfer of the parish of SS. Salvatore in 1770 and then enlargement and elevation works - including the construction of the important apse, onto the south-western slope of the hill of Montottone - carried out throughout the second half of 1800’s. In the same century, was introduced the current name of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice.

In contemporary age, however, a sad page opens in the history of this church and, more generally, of all of Montottone. A history made of seismic shocks, such as those of the earthquakes of 1997 and 2016; terrible events that, although fortunately spared the town from the devastating consequences like other locations in Central Italy, nevertheless have caused significant damage to the inner structures of the building, that actually made the church periodically inaccessible to visitors in order to carry out the restoration work.

With the important architectural and aesthetic renewal implemented since 1515, the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice quickly became not only a place of great religious attraction, but also artistic appeal. And in the midst of Renaissance, this meant bringing the best artists of the region's cultural scene to Montottone.

Among these, it’s impossible not to mention Vincenzo Pagani from Monterubbiano, considered one of the most talented local painters ever, active in many villages and cities of the area throughout the first half of 1500’s. Right here, Church Santa Maria Ausiliatrice in Montottone houses his masterpiece Virgin on the throne with Child and Saints.

This is a real attraction to discover here in Montottone, a precious sacred art canvas dated around the mid-1500’s - therefore at the peak of Pagani's artistic maturity - measuring 267x215 cm, which pictures the Virgin on the throne with Child in her arms between the figures of St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, St. Catherine and Mary Magdalene, in the representation of what is known as the mystical marriage.

The work, restored in Urbino and replaced on the right wall of the left arm of the transept of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, is characterized by its notable plastic sense that emerges above all in the realization of the details of the figures on the scene and in the accurate research of anatomical peculiarities. In full Pagani style, the painting presents aesthetic elements characteristic of Venetian and Umbrian Renaissance painting, as well as a strong reference to the technique of Raphael, especially in his masterpieces of Madonna del Pesce and Madonna of Foligno.

The Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice also houses a beautiful canvas by Sebastiano Conca (mid-1700’s), who practiced at the art schools in Naples and Rome, representing the Resurrection of Christ.

We talked about wonder beyond appearances, about ingenuity that meets beauty, and about that mysterious well right in front of the doors to the church. Yes, because Santa Maria Ausiliatrice hosts a really special place underneath it, one of the most important testimonies of the history of the village.

That’s the medieval Cistern of Montottone, reachable by going down the alley right of the church, an extremely evocative attraction to visit in the town that, despite the passing of time and earthquakes, has remained perfectly preserved today.

This building, which is estimated to have been built in the 1200’s and then expanded in the 1400’s (precisely in the years of construction of the original Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice), represents for historians an important and interesting example of medieval engineering and architecture, which has no comparison in other locations in the province of Fermo - in particular for its size and for the quality of the walls, worthy of prominent cities.

The medieval Cistern of Montottone is in fact organized on two spacious levels (both of which can be visited today) divided into several tanks, dug into the depths of the hill on which the town stands, whose main basin has a depth of 15 m x a width of 6 m.

The important dimensions of the cistern, from which water was drawn through the church’s well, certainly had the primary function of guaranteeing the population enough water all year round, especially to overcome times of drought and the frequent sieges to which the castle was subjected. But secondly, as history often teaches us, such an important work was particularly functional also and above all to consolidate the strength and power of the ancient castle compared to the other fiefdoms within Marca Fermana, in an era where the political struggle (and not only) for the control of the territory was an everyday issue.

In short, the Church of Santa Maria Ausiliatrice is truly a treasure of history, art and beauty to discover here in Montottone. A place to preserve, to experience and to love, carefully guarding this small, great piece of the past, to fall in love once again, in the future, with this unique and very rich land.