Duomo di San Giuliano

The Church of San Giuliano combines a fifteenth-century Gothic bell tower with a neoclassical body designed by Cosimo Morelli in the late eighteenth century. Dedicated to Macerata's patron saint, it preserves artworks spanning several centuries and a historic organ by Gaetano Callido.

Why it matters

San Giuliano has been a religious landmark of Macerata and a historic cathedral of the city. Its unfinished classical façade and ornate Gothic tower record distinct phases of the town's architectural history. The church stands near the old walls and Porta San Giuliano, linking its religious history to the surrounding urban fabric.

What to notice

The bell tower, completed in 1478, contrasts with the later neoclassical church. Morelli's interior is broad and luminous, with chapels holding works from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries, including a polyptych connected with Allegretto Nuzi and paintings by Andrea Boscoli and Filippo Bellini. The organ, built in 1790 by Gaetano Callido and restored at the end of the twentieth century, is another notable feature.

Context and history

A church dedicated to San Giuliano is documented at the site from the tenth century. The present building followed a fifteenth-century church, of which the Gothic bell tower is the principal surviving element. Bishop Nicolò dall'Aste financed its eighteenth-century reconstruction to a design by Cosimo Morelli; work began in 1771 and was essentially complete by 1790. The façade was never finished. The church was dedicated to Macerata's patron and served as the city's cathedral for centuries.