Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli (della Scopa)

The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, known locally as della Scopa, is a small single-nave church in Civitella del Tronto. Tradition places its origins in the fourteenth century, while the present building is more cautiously dated to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century.

Why it matters

The church preserves a long-standing devotional place in the borgo and the memory of the confraternity of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Its mixed dating reflects the limited evidence for its earliest phase and the later rebuilding of the structure.

What to notice

The plain stone portal opens into a single hall beneath an open-truss roof. Traces of Renaissance polychrome decoration survive beneath later plaster. The church is also associated with wooden sculptures of the Dead Christ and an image of the Virgin as Addolorata; local tradition offers differing explanations for the name “della Scopa.”

Context and history

Some accounts attribute the church's foundation to the early fourteenth century, while more cautious architectural readings place the existing building between the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Its history is closely connected to the confraternity that cared for it. The structure remains part of Civitella's historic religious landscape below the fortress.