Church of Santa Maria in Lapide in Montegallo

History of the Church of Santa Maria in Lapide

Its origins go back to the 8th-9th century, when the area was controlled by the monks of Farfa. In 1125 the abbot of Farfa, Adenulfo I, included the monastery of Santa Maria in Lapide, together with that of Santa Maria in Pantano, among the monasteries required to pay an annual fee to the Abbey. From the 8th to the 14th century "Sancta Maria in Lapide" was also the old name of the land of Montegallo: a peace treaty of 1378 still calls it that.

Toward the end of the 15th century the church was thoroughly rebuilt. The start of the work is generally dated to 1491, the date of an inscription in the transept that is now illegible. The plan became a Latin cross and few of the old decorations survived. Lombard craftsmen were probably involved. The pastoral visit of Bishop Nicolò Aragona (1580-1581) shows that the Confraternity of Corpus Domini already existed.

What to see in the Church of Santa Maria in Lapide

Of the Benedictine layout, the central square core remains. The walls connect through pendentives to an octagonal drum, on which the segmented dome rests. The drum is tall and carries a stone gallery supported by large corbels, recalling that of the church of San Francesco in Ascoli. The bell gable rises from one side of the square base and is taller than the dome.

The interior has a single nave, a Latin cross plan and no apse. There is a 9th-century crypt and a bronze bell with inscriptions in Gothic lettering. Slits, posterns and corbels on the far end of the building were used to watch over and defend the site.

Visiting the Church of Santa Maria in Lapide

Before visiting, it is best to check whether the church is open. In 2026, ten years after the 2016 earthquake, the church is undergoing restoration work. The church is the seat of the parish of Santa Maria in Lapide, in the Diocese of Ascoli Piceno.

Where the Church of Santa Maria in Lapide is located

The church is in the hamlet of Santa Maria in Lapide, in the municipality of Montegallo, in the Marche region. Montegallo lies on the slopes of Monte Vettore, along the Fluvione river. The Rio stream, which flows beside the church, is its main tributary.

Around the Church of Santa Maria in Lapide

In Montegallo the Benedictines left another mark in the Romanesque church of Santa Maria in Pantano, near the castle of Santa Maria. It held frescoes, including the Sibilla Agrippina and the Nativity. In the hamlet of Uscerno are the Museo della Civiltà Contadina (museum of rural life) and a portal with an ancient symbolic inscription. Other religious buildings in the area are on the page about the churches of the Sibillini Mountains.