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From the Frasassi Grottoes to Arcevia and Serra San Quirico
A feeling of enchantment and wonder has always accompanied the vision of works of art by Gentile. The same feelings are experienced when visiting the spectacular Frasassi Grottoes, discovered only thirty years ago and now the destination of a sort of speleological pilgrimage. Kilometres of halls and galleries, ranging from the most gigantic (it could contain Milan Cathedral) to the most enchanted such as the one dedicated precisely to Gentile da Fabriano. These grottoes, near which there is also the suggestive Romanesque church of San Vittore delle Chiuse (11h Century), are the pearl of a protected area that is very rich in both nature and landscapes. In addition to the ravine formed by the Sentino River, after a few kilometres immersed in beautiful hills, one comes across Arcevia, a fortified centre in a dominating position looking towards the Adriatic. In the collegiate church of San Medardo there are two altarpieces by the great Luca Signorelli and a rare terracotta dossal by Giovanni della Robbia. Travelling through the vast landscapes and small castles one comes to the powerful walls of Serra San Quirico, with at the centre the church of Santa Lucia, which has one of the most beautiful Baroque interiors in the Marche Region.
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Valleromita and the Hermitage of Santa Maria di Valdisasso
When leaving Fabriano and going towards Rome, on the left there is the road to Valleromita. This is a naturalistic route equipped with a scenic area allowing one to enjoy the rich vegetation characterised by majestic century-old beech trees and teeming vegetation. Immersed in the woods there is the Valdisasso Hermitage. In 1405 the convent became the property of the Minor Monks of Fabriano who enlarged and embellished it thanks to considerable donations also provided by the Chiavelli family, seigniors of this city, who commissioned from Gentile, who at the time was in Venice, the famous Valleromita Polyptych most of which is present in the exhibition.
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From Sassoferrato to the Abbey of Fonte Avellana
Driving along the road that skirts the slopes of Mount Cucco one comes across the archaeological ruins of the Roman city of Sentinum and a little further along also Sassoferrato. The city is important for its historical centre and for a considerable number of paintings ranging from Romanesque to Baroque, among them those by Giovan Battista Salvi, known also as Sassoferrato. Twenty kilometres further on one comes to the feet of nearby Mount Catria, where there is the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana, founded by Saint Romualdo in about 980. Still standing in their original Roman-Gothic style there are still a number of the monastery’s room: the cloisters, the bare but extremely beautiful Scriptorium room and the crypt.
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From the Val di Castro Abbey to the Castles of Jesi
From the small village of Albacina, following the course of the River Esino south of Fabriano, one come across the small town of Cerreto d’Esi that still preserves its medieval look. From Albacina there is a road climbing towards Mount San Vicino and an altitude of almost 1000 metres one comes to the fields of Poggio San Romualdo. One then drives down through woods and pastures towards the Abbey of Val di Castro, founded by Saint Romualdo in the year 1009. The saint died here in 1027 and his remains were moved in 1481 to the Fabriano church of the Saints Biagio and Romualdo. Continuing towards the Esina Valley one comes across small villages and castles such as that of Precicchie, abbeys like those in Sant’Urbano and Sant’Elena. Driving through the Verdicchio vineyards the road rises again, going through Cupramontana, to then come to Staffolo, where it is possible to admire the wonderful polyptych by the Maestro di Staffolo in the Church of Saint Egidio.
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