Church of Santa Maria Maggiore

A) TRANSLATION OF THE LICENCE PLATE

The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was mentioned in the Rationes decimarum Italiae, published by Pietro Sella, already in 1324-1325. According to Moses D’Ami-co, the Church was founded in 1445. The Orsini princes built the central nave and, as an appendix to the north of it, the three chapels of San Gilberto, San Giacinto and the Blessed Sacrament were built. Approximately in 1740 began the expan-sion with the third nave (the one on the left) and the construction of two new altars, that of the Holy Rosary and the other of Purgatory, altars called privileged because there was an indulgence attached. Completed in 1759, the nave is supported by four cross vaults forming the so-called “Arch of Purgatory”, through which you reach the Castle. Other main interventions were carried out in 1869 (Apse) and around 1850 (Construction of the bell tower). The Church has taken on a neoclassi-cal appearance in the facade, softened by a double staircase (1906), while the in-terior is the result of the restoration carried out after the earthquake of 1984. In the Church, despite the losses suffered from the third century onwards, valuable sacred furnishings and paintings of certain artistic importance are preserved, including: a Madonna del Rosario of 1572, the work of a painter from the Venetian school; a Madonna del Carmine, second half of the 16th century by an unknown author; a San Gilberto di Sempringham dated 1797 by Pasquale Bellonio da Ortona; a Ma-donna and Child, San Giacinto and San Biagio from 1848 by Francesco Maria De Benedictis from Guardiagrele. Also worth noting is a statue of St. Joseph (late 17th century – first half of the 18th century) and the 15th-16th century wooden baptistery on whose door is carved the coat of arms of the University of Casoli. For the locali-zation of the works mentioned see the internal information. Even in this Church the recklessness of man has done its damage, removing the altar with colored marble, the marble balustrade and the wooden pulpit, visible in the vintage image. A beautiful reliquary bust of St. Gilberto was stolen in 1980.

B) SUPPLEMENTARY NEWS