Awaiting you within an evocative eighteenth-century setting, in addition to the typically Baroque stuccoes and ornaments, are three splendid altarpieces by the most important protagonists of the Italian Renaissance: Pietro Vannucci known as Perugino, his very young pupil Raphael and the latter's father Giovanni Saints.
The church of Santa Maria Nuova, originally the parish church of San Salvatore, has its origins in the Middle Ages, but in 1518 it was granted to the Observant Minor Friars fleeing from their monastery of San Lazzaro during the siege of Fano in 1517 by the Rovereschi militias. It was the friars who rebuilt the place making it as it is visible today. The elegant portico with three arches supported by Corinthian columns with ribbed roofs dates back to 1543, from which you can access the interior of the church, characterized by a candelabra portal created by Bernardino di Pietra Carona. The vast nave, consecrated in 1557, unfortunately underwent a complete renovation in the two-year period 1706-1708 and the eight large side altars painted with fake marble, the characteristic ovoid medallions with figures of saints on the pilasters, and the large vaulted ceiling date back to this period. lowered. To further enrich the church there is a wooden choir, initially commissioned by the minor friars for the previous church and completed in 1489. On the right side of the building there is the convent with two cloisters, of which it is still possible to observe some Ionic columns and various environments of sixteenth-century origin.
The bell tower, of nineteenth-century origin, was demolished in 1944 due to war bombings.
Entering the suggestive church, noteworthy are the splendid altarpieces placed on the first and second altars on the left. Giovanni Santi's first work, dated 1490, depicts the Visitation and is considered one of the most beautiful works of Raphael's father in his mature phase.
The second altarpiece, dating back to 1488, the Annunciation, is the work of Pietro Vannucci, known as Perugino.
In the third altar on the right it is possible to admire the altarpiece with the Madonna enthroned with Child and Saints, a work signed by Perugino and dated 1497, surmounted by a lunette depicting the Pietà ; worth mentioning is the beautiful predella with the Stories of the Virgin, whose creation cannot be ruled out by the young Raphael, a pupil of Perugino. It is one of the artist's most beautiful works for the grace and refinement of the figures, masterfully expressed by the image of Mary Magdalene for whom Perugino paid particular attention to her hairstyle and clothing.
