SHARRYLAND
The Church of Our Lady of Grace in Monte San Martino
Three chapels, a revealed fresco, heavenly music
Where is
Where is the Church of Our Lady of Grace
The Sibillini Mountains embrace the small village of Monte San Martino, 600 m.a.s.l. and just over 600 inhabitants. Just outside the village, at the foot of a cliff, stands a sober little church with a curiously asymmetrical shape: it is the Church of Our Lady of Grace. Inside, the single nave frames the altar dedicated to Mary Magdalene at the back.
Why it's special: three frescoed chapels.
Here is the wonder. On the left wall are three small chapels with magnificent 16th-century frescoes. The first chapel tells of Elizabeth's visit to Mary (the fresco is dated 1590). The second is dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, seated on a throne with the Child on her lap, between St. Roch and St. Sebastian. The third is dedicated to the Most Holy Crucifix, with Christ unusually dressed in black, with rich golden vestments: this is a representation of the highly venerated Holy Face of Lucca. In this third chapel, two curious false doors look forward to eternal reward: the "Porta Coeli" and the "Porta Paradisi."
The revealed frescoes
The very chapel of Our Lady of Grace recently revealed a secret: its 16th-century frescoes were not original at all! They covered other, older frescoes! The restorers who made this discovery carefully peeled off the upper frescoes to reveal the beauty they had been hiding for centuries and relocated them on the opposite wall of the church. The Madonna and Child, now finally revealed, is attributed to Vincenzo Pagani of Monterubbiano. The date engraved at the base of her throne places her in time: it was the year 1536.
A bit of history with a noir twist
Located outside the town walls, it was a rural church: it also served as a cemetery and, during the plague, as a lazaret (St. Roch and St. Sebastian, depicted in the second chapel, were in fact the saints invoked in times of plague. A landslide from the cliff collapsed the roof and broke through the floor, revealing skeletons and bones of people who had been buried here. Many legends and rumors ran rampant in the village following this macabre event.
The concerts of Our Lady of Grace
During the summer, classical music fills the nave of the church, drawing the entire community of Monsammartines and beyond. Artistic director of the valuable review is maestro Dante Milozzi, a renowned flutist. The concerts are free, "because music is a gift."
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