territory and history

The Fortress of Albornoz - The fortress was built in 1368 by Egidio Albornoz papal legate that made it with the money proceeded from the sale of confiscated property to the family of Atti Sassoferrato.
Restored in different periods, the Rocca was a defensive bastion of great importance for the entire area. In cleaning up the interior, during one of the restorations were found ceramics and artillery by local production (XVI Ce).


The archaeological museum of Sassoferrato - Founded by Prof. G. Vitaletti, historian and writer, it was recently expanded, set up according with modern criteria that will ensure order and functionality. In this museum you will find exhibitions documenting the most important aspects of life of the ancients Sentinati, (the organization of political and social life, religion, the tools needed for a civil coexistence: amphorae, lamps, decorative objects, coins, etc..) . On the floor of two rooms were set mosaics found at Sentinum. Inside the complex is possible to visit the hall Perottiana wich give hospitality to a valuable collection of Flemish paintings, Byzantine reliquaries, and two paintings of G.B. Salvi.

The Abbey of the Holy Cross of Auditors - Holy Cross was founded in the XII century by count Atti, lord of Sassoferrato, for the Camaldolese monks coming from San Vittore, using materials from the nearby town of Sentinum. The Abbey had a rapid and luxuriant development so that after a century from the foundation, had already fifty churches and priory depending on it. It also indicates a high spiritual life of many monks, including Blessed Alberto and Blessed Gherardo. Some very important days were 2-3-4 of May because of a big festivity which saw the priors and the people of Sassoferrato linked by solemn procession, fairs, games and the race of the pallium. Due to its structure and ornamentation, the church of the Holy Cross is a work of great artistic interest. From the outside does not appear anything of interior, in fact on one side, construction is incorporated in the cloister structure. The bell tower, seems to be built in 1300 and originally was to have a defensive function. The two ancient bells that are preserved in the church belongs to 1400 and 1412 years. The portal is almost entirely hidden by two support walls built by the monks in the first decade of the'900. The resulting compartment is covered by a barrel vault, with frames made of stone carved with floral and geometric motifs. The portal consists of four concentric arches that are based on pillars with bestiaries-decorated motifs capitals. The internal structure is characterised by a central plan, with Byzantine exedras. The rich and varied decoration of the capitals of the central pillars is very interesting, half showing floral and geometric motifs, other one showing human figures, all in connection with the sacrifice of the Cross. From the frescoes of the XIV ce. that decorated walls, pillars and even apses, we can now see some remains on the columns that show images of S. Catherine on the wheel and Blessed Alberto. On the left side of the church, there are images of the life of St. Thomas Apostle, together with Holy Mary, the crucifix and Blessed Alberto. There are other two important masterpieces belonging to the church temporarily stored elsewhere. The first one is a majestic painting, erroneously considered made by Antonio da Fabriano. Recently the famous art critic Federico Zeri found the right author in Giovan Antonio da Pesaro. The other work dated 1524 is an altarpiece depicting St. Benedict, made by Pietro Paolo Agabiti. Not to miss inside the abbey are a remarkable St. Rocco statue made in terracotta (XV ce.), and the rare golden wood “paliotto” (XVII ce.) on the high altar.

Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions – It collects numerous objects and instruments belonging to "peasant civilization". They are detectable both in working tools, both in the variety of furnishings, the efficient features and that sense of harmonious proportions. Open from Tuesday to Saturday.

illustrious men of sassoferrato

Bartolo da Sassoferrato (1313-1359) - Juriconsult, founder of civil law, called by contemporaries Monarcha Juris because of his deep and full outstanding display of Roman Law; he knew how to interpret the spirit, adapting the rules to new times and the changing social conditions . His comment to the Corpus Juris had been for centuries the main text book for academic schools. He was a pupil of Cino da Pistoia and succeeded him as teacher at the University of Perugia. Bartolo was also a judge and a lawyer.

Niccolò Perotti (1430-1480) - Born in Sassoferrato, was educated in Mantua by Vittorino de 'Ribaldoni da Feltre, one of the greatest masters of his time and then in Ferrara by Guarino. Once in Rome he worked for Cardinal Bessarione and attending him in his delegation to Bologna met the Emperor Frederick II to whom presented as homage of the city a Latin prayer, which earned him the title of Conte, extendable to all his descendants. He was secretary of apostolic three Popes (Eugene IV, V and Nicholas Callistus III). In 1458 Pope Pius II named him Archbishop of Siponto. He died on December 14, 1480, his tomb is in the Cathedral of Manfredonia. His most important works are: the translation of the first five books of Polybius, the Treaty of Oraziana Metric and Rudimenta Grammatices. He discovered in the Vatican Library 32 Tales of Phaedrus that still go under the name Appendix Perottina, and the Cornu Copia Linguae Latinae. He left to Sassoferrato, a collection of reliquaries currently preserved in the Civic Museum of Sassoferrato.

Pietro Paolo Agabiti (1470-1540) - Born in the village of Sassoferrato from Agabito Agabiti. He was a painter of religious subjects, as well as an architect and ceramist. In 1497 he painted the “Madonna and Child Enthroned two Saints", now at the Civic Art Gallery of Padua, which is considered his masterpiece. Between 1523 and 1526 in Jesi, he had the most important meeting of his artistic life with the famous painter Lorenzo Lotto. Agabiti technique of painting is to be considered a mixture of Venetian painting and the Umbrian one.

Giovan Battista Salvi also known as "il Sassoferrato" (1609- 1685) - was primarily active in nearby Urbino and other central Italian cities. In Rome he came under the influence of Annibale Carracci and Domenichino, of whom he was a pupil for some time. His style appears to be almost deliberately archaic and the precise draughtsman ship and choise of colouring, which were not typical of his Italian Baroque contemporaries, led eighteenth-century historians to believe that he was in fact a contemporary of Raphael. Other than a few public commissions, Sassoferrato painted mainly small devotional pictures for private clients and the Madonna at prayer was one of his most popular subjects.

interesting places

Le Grotte di Frasassi - The systematic search in the area of Frasassi began in 1948, thanks to the Marchigiano Speleological Group of Ancona but only after 1966, searches in the caves have become more assiduous, until September 25, 1971 when Rolando Silvestri and other members of Marchigiano Speleological Group and Club of Ancona, discovered a small entrance leading into a tiny room along the northern slopes of Mount Vallemontagnana. Nothing particularly if it had not been that some cracks in walls let air currents get off a sort of subterranean wind. After several days of excavations they discovered a cave 100meters deep, which is now called Abisso Ancona. The discovery aroused great enthusiasm among the members of the group: now the beautiful Great Wind Cave can be seen by all the people who wishes to visit it, from 1974. http://www.frasassi.com/

Sentinum – We find the first informations about ancient Sentinum in 600 B. C. In 295 B. C. there took place the famous “battle of the Nations”. Sentinum was totally burned in 41 B. C. by the Emperor Ottaviano’s troups and then rebuilt by the will of Emperor Cesare Augusto. Between VIII ce. and X ce. the city was abandoned by its citizens died for plague and other kind of diseases. During the Upper Middle Ages Sentinum ruins were used to build the new city of Sassoferrato as we see in the example of Santa Croce Abbey (XII ce.).