Chiesa dell'Annunziata

Pesaro's Church of the Annunciation began as the oratory of a confraternity founded in 1347 to aid the sick, welcome pilgrims and support the poor. Its Baroque interior includes a stucco Annunciation by Giuseppe Mazza, while restoration has given the former oratory a cultural use.

Why it matters

The confraternity was established through the initiative of Beato Cecco and Beata Michelina Metelli, who donated her house to support its charitable work. After Michelina's death in 1356, the brotherhood added dowries for poor girls and established a hospital. The building's history links that civic tradition with later artistic patronage and adaptive reuse.

What to notice

The apse contains a stucco relief of the Annunciation with the Eternal Father by Giuseppe Mazza. The building's present form reflects a Baroque remodelling in the mid-seventeenth century. Its surviving surfaces and funerary monuments also record its later use by families and institutions. A fresco of the Madonna del Popolo once adorned the façade and was removed for protection; a painting by Marco Palmezzano that stood on the altar is now in the Vatican Pinacoteca.

Context and history

The confraternity was suppressed in the late eighteenth century under Bishop Rocco Maria Barsanti. The property later passed through the Mosca Barzi family and returned to the Diocese after that family died out. After a long period of neglect, the church was transferred in 1998 to the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pesaro, with a commitment to restore it for cultural activities. The restored building has been used for theatrical and musical performances.