Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta (Santa Maria di Piazza Alta)

Santa Maria Assunta stands at the top of Sarnano's medieval centre. The parish church, completed with its bell tower in 1396, has a carved portal and lunette devoted to the Assumption, along with frescoes by Lorenzo d'Alessandro and Pietro Alamanno.

Why it matters

The church was built within Sarnano's walls for the growing community, replacing the need to travel to the Abbey of Piobbico for worship. It was first known as Santa Maria intra moenia, meaning “within the walls.” Its history links the town's foundation and parish life with the religious community at Piobbico.

What to notice

The portal has carved shafts, rosettes, vines and foliage beneath a pointed arch. The lunette depicts the Virgin among the Apostles, with the Eternal above. The single nave sits beneath the bell tower; two stairways beside the altar descend to a four-vault crypt with traces of late-fifteenth- and early-sixteenth-century frescoes. Paintings once in the church are now displayed in the civic gallery.

Context and history

The Piobbico Benedictines founded the church after 1294, according to the municipal account. The bell tower completed the building in 1396. Lorenzo d'Alessandro painted frescoes here in 1483, and the crypt preserves remains attributed to Pietro Alamanno. Other paintings commissioned for the church, including works by Giovanni Angelo d'Antonio, Niccolò di Liberatore and Alamanno, are now in Sarnano's municipal gallery.