Holiday apartment in Sant'Elpidio a Mare: History and Tradition

Perched on a hill above the Chienti and Tenna valleys, Sant'Elpidio a Mare combines a striking setting with a rich historical and cultural profile. Reconstruction on the Colle della Pieve began in 1380 and created today's historic centre. This makes it an interesting destination where the landscape and the town's history can be seen as different sides of the same travel experience.

Historic Centre and Architectural History

The historic centre of Sant'Elpidio a Mare lies in an area that once belonged to the Roman city of Cluana. The medieval borgo, known as the “Castello di Sant'Elpidio”, was established in the 11th century on the hill whose summit is crowned by the Church of Madonna dei Lumi. The Palazzo Comunale was built in the 14th century as the Palazzo dei Priori.

Piazza Civica is home to the Torre Gerosolimitana, the highest point in the city; it is 28 metres high. The Chiesa del Santissimo Sacramento was built in the 13th century by the Knights of the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.

Art, Theatre and Museums

The Teatro Luigi Cicconi was built in 1872 and is located in the historic centre on Corso Baccio. Its historic curtain is a tempera painting created in 1873 by Ferdinando Cicconi, depicting important figures from the Marche region.

The former monastery of the Oratorian Fathers houses the Pinacoteca Civica “Vittore Crivelli” and the Museo della Calzatura, which bears the name of its initiator and founder, Cav. Vincenzo Andolfi. The Pinacoteca preserves Vittore Crivelli's Polittico dell’Incoronazione e Santi and Trittico della Visitazione con la Pietà.

The Pinacoteca also houses the large Assunzione altarpiece created in 1564 by Girolamo Dente, Tizianello. The Museo dei fossili opens up a different timescale. Its permanent exhibition grew out of the work of local researchers from Sant'Elpidio a Mare and is housed at the headquarters of Contrada San Giovanni. It displays specimens from the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Cenozoic and Neozoic eras and illustrates geological changes in Italy, particularly in the Marche region.

Religious Traditions and Festivals

The Santuario della Madonna degli Angeli was built with the intention of recreating the Porziuncola di Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi. The festival in honour of the Madonna degli Angeli is held every year on 1 August, on the eve of the Perdono di Assisi. The Contesa del Secchio is a historical re-enactment held in the second week of August, in which four city contrade compete in an old ball-game tradition.

Holiday Apartment in Sant'Elpidio a Mare and Planning Your Trip

The municipal culture and tourism office offers guided tours of the historic centre and the Torre Gerosolimitana. When planning your stay in a holiday apartment in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, you can therefore decide whether to focus on art and architectural history, geological history, religious traditions or historic festivals. This allows you to link your accommodation choice to specific interests without reducing the town to just one attraction.

More Travel Ideas

If you would like to explore more places for your trip planning, you can also discover Capodarco, Smerillo, Fermo, Massa Fermana, Casette D'ete, Monte Giberto, Lapedona and Monterubbiano.

Back to the higher-level travel overview: Fermo.