Chiesa della Madonna degli Angeli

The rural church of Madonna degli Angeli stands on the slopes beyond Pacentro's walled core. Founded by the Orsini, it is documented in a marriage record of 1599; after a long period of ruin, it returned to worship in 1928 through the efforts of Mariannina Avolio.

Why it matters

The municipality records that the church was founded by the Orsini family and that the surrounding contrada of Madonna degli Angeli developed around it. An ecclesiastical record of a marriage celebrated there in 1599 documents its late-sixteenth-century use. The church was abandoned and fell into ruin during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Mariannina Avolio supported its recovery, and parish priest Davide Di Cicco restored it to worship in 1928.

What to notice

The church stands on Via del Colle, among terraced streets at the edge of the historic settlement. It is a modest rural church whose late-sixteenth-century use is documented by the 1599 marriage record. Its setting connects the district with the castle and the historic borgo.

Context and history

The church's documented history begins at the end of the sixteenth century, when the Orsini, Pacentro's lords from 1483 to 1612, founded it on the rural fringe. The 1599 marriage is the earliest dated event cited by the municipality. After a period of abandonment and ruin in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Mariannina Avolio supported its recovery, and in 1928 parish priest Davide Di Cicco returned it to worship. The municipality lists the church among Pacentro's historic places.