Church of San Filippo Neri (Camerino)

History of the Church of San Filippo Neri

The church was built in 1733 on the initiative of the Oratorians. The design is attributed to the architects Pietro Loni and Domenico Cipriani. After the suppression of the order and the transfer of the property to the state, the former convent became home to schools and, later, university institutions.

The 1997 earthquake required lengthy restoration work. Once the work was finished, the church had reopened for worship, and the Tiepolo altarpiece had returned to its original place after a period in the Palazzo Vescovile (Bishop's Palace). The 2016 earthquake damaged it again, and according to the Comune it is now closed and unsafe.

What to see in the Church of San Filippo Neri

The interior is Baroque. The nave is crossed by two side chapels and ends with the solemn high altar. The right side chapel, decorated with stucco, once held the altarpiece of the apparition of the Virgin to St. Philip Neri by Giambattista Tiepolo, now on display in the Museo diocesano di Camerino.

How to visit the Church of San Filippo Neri

According to the Comune di Camerino, the church is temporarily closed because it has been unsafe since the 2016 earthquake. The 2016 earthquakes destroyed or badly damaged about four hundred buildings in the historic center of Camerino alone. Many of the town's churches are still unsafe because of that damage. For information, the phone number of the Comune is in the box on this page.

Camerino lies at 661 m above sea level and has frequent, often heavy snowfall in winter. Summers are warm but rarely muggy, with thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening.

Where the Church of San Filippo Neri is located

The church is in Camerino, a town built on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza valleys. To the south it is closed off by the massif of the Sibillini Mountains, and to the north by Monte San Vicino. It is one of the urban religious buildings of the historic center. Directly behind it stands the Oratorio di San Giovanni in Peschieria.

Around the Church of San Filippo Neri in Camerino

Other religious buildings are a short distance away, such as the Basilica of San Venanzio, with its facade in florid Gothic style and the crypt that houses the saint's Arca (tomb). The former convent of San Domenico houses the Pinacoteca e Museo civici (civic art gallery and museum), with works by the Camerino school of painting.

The archbishop's palace and its diocesan museum reopened after nine years of closure. Other churches in the area are on the page churches of the Sibillini Mountains.