A small jewel hidden in the historic heart of the city, off the beaten tourist itinerary, this enchanting church of modest dimensions stands out for its essential architectural simplicity, and for having been, according to a popular legend, the first cathedral of the city.
Tradition, or rather legend, has it that the church of San Pietro in Episcopio was the first Fano cathedral founded in 78 AD. by bishop Sant'Apollinare of Ravenna. Recently dated to the period between the mid-6th to the 10th century, it is also known as S. Pier Vescovile or, as the people of Fano say, San Piruschin. The small church resisted the invasions and neglect of the medieval period but with the construction of the current Cathedral, it progressively lost much of its importance; in 1586 it hosted the hermits of the order of the blessed Pietro da Pisa and was chosen as a burial place by the prestigious noble family of the Rinalducci house whose tombstones are still found in the crypt today. Unfortunately, no trace remains of the rich furnishings that adorned the ceiling, specially made by Girolamo Rinalducci, due to the structural damage caused by the devastating earthquake of 1930. After Girolamo's death, the following three centuries saw the inexorable decline of the church, first with the abandonment of the Rinalduccis for the new cathedral, then by the canons themselves and by the faithful who preferred the new sumptuous baroque churches. Abandoned to itself, the building subsequently even housed a carpentry shop until returning to its simple beauty in recent times thanks to numerous restorations.
The exterior is characterized by a bare gabled façade in sandstone with a beautiful arched portal; the interior has a single nave with a new trussed ceiling and a terracotta floor, behind the altar the wooden crucifix is a copy of a work by the sculptor Alessandro Algardi.
