Duomo di Recanati

Recanati Cathedral, dedicated to San Flaviano, is partly concealed by the former bishop's palace; its entrance opens from the side. Inside, a coffered wooden ceiling dated 1620 spans the nave, and the crypt holds episcopal tombs and the sarcophagus of Pope Gregory XII.

Why it matters

Recanati became a diocese in 1240, and San Flaviano has served as its cathedral. It is now a co-cathedral and parish church in the Diocese of Macerata. The church preserves traces of an earlier building in the crypt and the tomb of Gregory XII, who resigned from the papacy in 1415 and died in Recanati in 1417. He is the last pope buried outside Rome.

What to notice

The façade is incorporated into the old episcopal palace, leaving the main entrance on the side. The wooden ceiling, dated 1620, has a high-relief figure of San Flaviano at its centre; its carving and painting are attributed to Andrea Costa, Antonio Rizzo, Tommaso Gallucci and Giacomo Zappetta. Seventeenth-century stuccoes and frescoes in the sanctuary include a depiction of the Translation of the Holy House of Loreto. The baptismal font includes bronze work by Pier Paolo Jacometti, and the Via Crucis paintings are by Biagio Biagetti. In the crypt, early fabric and bishops' tombs provide further evidence of the church's history.

Context and history

The church was rebuilt in the early thirteenth century and again in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century under Cardinal Angelo da Bevagna. Extensive work in the late eighteenth century gave the interior its neoclassical appearance, while the façade became incorporated into the adjoining bishop's palace. Gregory XII retired to Recanati after resigning from the papacy and was buried in the cathedral. San Flaviano is now listed as both parish church and co-cathedral of the Diocese of Macerata.