Soon after, the M. became provinces of the new Kingdom of Italy: they had remained under the devotion and obedience of the Holy See for more than a thousand years.
F. Ermini, Ricordi conciliare, 1933; M. Maccarata, Ascoli, dal fiume Tavullo al Tronto. The dioceses that compose it are 26, but there are only 19 bishops because the following dioceses are united under a single prelate: Fabriano and Matelica, Osimo and Cingoli, Macerata and Tolentino, Montalto and Ripatransone, S. Severino and Treia, Cagli and Pergola, S. Angelo in Vado and Urbania, not to mention Ancona and Numana, where the latter has no see other than a parish, without a curia or Chapter.
The city of Loreto was furthermore elevated on 11 Oct. 1935 to an apostolic administration (entrusted to the Apostolic Nuncio in Italy, who is represented there by an episcopal vicar). There are two ecclesiastical provinces in the region: that of Fermo, which has as its suffragans the dioceses of Macerata and Tolentino, Montalto and Ripatransone, and S. Severino; and that of Urbino, which has as its suffragans the dioceses of Cagli and Pergola, Fossombrone, Montefeltro, Pesaro, S. Severino and Treia, Urbania and S. Angelo in Vado, and Senigallia. Directly subject to the Holy See, however, are the archdioceses of Ancona and Numana and of Camerino, and the dioceses of Ascoli Piceno, Fabriano and Matelica, Fano, Jesi, Osimo and Cingoli, Macerata and Tolentino, and Urbino.
The bishops' conferences are convoked and presided over by the nuncio, or in his absence by the metropolitan of Urbino.
For marriage nullity cases, the M. have a single tribunal, that of Fermo, of which the local archbishop is the moderator (motu proprio: Qua Cura, 8 Dec. 1938; Norms of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, 10 July 1940). The court of appeal is the Regional and Trunk Tribunal of Florence.
For secondary school and theology, the clerics of the dioceses of Ancona, Fabriano and Matelica, Fano, Jesi, Osimo and Cingoli, Montalto and Ripatransone, Urbino, Cagli and Pergola, Fossombrone, Montefeltro, Pesaro, S. Severino and Treia, Urbania and S. Angelo in Vado, and Macerata and Loreto attend the Pontifical Regional Marches Seminary (Pius XI) in Fano. The remaining dioceses provide for the education of their own seminarians independently.
Vittorio Bartoccetti
IV. Art.
1. Introduction
Evidence from the prehistoric period and the Bronze and Iron Ages has been found in numerous necropolises scattered throughout the region and largely gathered in the National Museum of Ancona, where important objects from the Picene, Greek, Etruscan, Gallic, and Roman civilizations—which successively exerted their influence on the territory—are also preserved.There is little architectural evidence from the pre-Roman civilizations; numerous and impressive, scattered throughout the region, are those pertaining to Roman civilization. Among these are the Arch of Trajan and the remains of the amphitheater in Ancona; in Ascoli a "Templum in antis" (today the church of S. Gregorio), the Porta Cappuccina bridge, and the so-called Porta Gemina; in Fano the Arch of Augustus, and so on. Important portraits also exist, such as those of Urbs Salia (Macerata) and Faleria (Ascoli). Finally, in the M. is found the famous Furlo Gallery, built by Vespasian in AD 76 to make the Via Flaminia more convenient through that narrow gorge.
2. Architecture
From the Paleochristian period there remain the remains of two 5th-century churches beneath the Romanesque church of S. Maria della Piazza in Ancona. Romanesque architecture flourishes throughout the region, leaving interesting manifestations with Lombard and Byzantine influences, the latter accounting for the presence of complex-plan organisms with central development, such as the cathedral of Ancona.Other notable examples include S. Maria di Porto Novo (Ancona), S. Vittore (Genga), S. Claudio di Chienti (which is also dated to the 6th century), S. Urbano di Apiro, the abbey of the Furlo, the aforementioned S. Maria in Ancona, and finally the baptistery of Ascoli. The transitional period between Romanesque and Gothic is represented by S. Elena near Serra S. Quirico, while an illustrious example of early Gothic is provided by the abbey of Chiaravalle, dating to the end of the 12th century. The major monuments of Romanesque civil architecture are found in Ascoli, Ancona, and Fano. Gothic architecture offers its finest example in S. Francesco in Ascoli, while the façades of S. Agostino and S. Francesco in Ancona, works by the Dalmatian Giorgio Orsini, date to the second half of the 15th century. Finally, noteworthy examples of military architecture from the Gothic period include, among others, the castle of Gradara, though restored, with its walls and fortress.
The advent of the Renaissance brings a new architectural flowering. Urbino claims the first manifestation, in chronological order, of this new artistic civilization: the portal of the church of S. Domenico, a work by the Florentine Masaccio (1450). In the same city, in the second half of the century, arises the most solemn, grand, and pure example of Renaissance civil architecture: the Ducal Palace, a work by Luciano Laurana, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, and others. The new beauty of the building inspired a trend that drew from it; manifestations of this are the Palazzo Passionei in Urbino, the Ducal Palace in Pesaro, and others. Francesco di Giorgio is the author of the Palazzo della Signoria in Jesi and perhaps of the Palazzo degli Anziani (prefecture) in Ancona. Tuscan artists worked in Loreto (the basilica of the Holy House), while the influence of the Urbino-born Bramante is felt in his native city (if the S. Bernardino there is to be attributed to him, though modern criticism tends to assign it to Francesco di Giorgio), in Loreto, in Macerata (S. Maria delle Vergini), and in the beautiful sanctuary of Macereto (Visso), a work built under the direction of the Lombard Filippo Salvi. With the Villa Imperiale in Pesaro, built by Girolamo Genga of Urbino (who enlarged a pre-existing structure), the type of pre-villa is created, in which the landscape and scenographic elements acquire fundamental importance, while in Ancona Pellegrino Tibaldi raises the Palazzo Ferretti, the finest in the region among the many built in the course of the 16th century. Finally, mention should be made of the architectural work of Cola dell'Amatrice, active in Ascoli. Military architecture also produced notable examples. The fortresses of Pesaro and Senigallia are prototypes of modern fortifications in relation to the rise of artillery. In this field, Francesco di Giorgio, Laurana, and Baccio Pontelli were particularly active in the region.
Baroque architecture does not produce works of exceptional importance, while in the 18th century Luigi Vanvitelli erected numerous monuments, among which the fine Gesù church and some palaces in Ancona are remembered as deriving from him (Palazzo Jona, etc.).
### 3. Sculpture
Of the Paleo-Christian period, some sarcophagi remain (such as that of Gorgonio from the 5th century, in the cathedral of Ancona, and others) as well as some ivory carvings. Notable examples of barbarian art also survive, including the ambo formerly in the church of the Misericordia in Ancona and the tombstone of St. Vitalian in Osimo.
Romanesque sculpture generally exhibits cultural elements similar to those found in northern architecture, such as, for example, the portal of Santa Maria della Piazza in Ancona, a work by Maestro Filippo, and Byzantine influences, such as the magnificent plates in the cathedral of Ancona (12th century). The name of Giorgio Orsini recurs as the executor of the elegant decorations of his buildings in Ancona, among which the group of Charity in the Loggia dei Mercanti stands out as one of the most refined sculptures of the 15th century. However, the Ducal Palace of Urbino houses splendid examples of Renaissance sculpture (Tuscan and Lombard), in the fireplaces and portals that adorn it, works by Domenico Rosselli, Ambrogio Barocci, and others. In the Marches, examples of 15th-century wooden sculpture are widespread, almost always of Tuscan-Abruzzese influence, and sometimes under the influence of Francesco Laurana (group of the Annunciation in the Gallery of Urbino). The finest 16th-century sculptor from the Marches is Federico Brandani of Urbino, active in his native city, Senigallia, Piobbico, etc. Also noteworthy are the Jacometti brothers from Recanati, authors of bronze sculptures in Loreto, Osimo, Camerino, etc., and active between the late 16th and mid-17th centuries.
### 4. Painting
The history of painting in the Marches is long and complex. Traces of primitive frescoes, in two layers, are visible in the Paleo-Christian church beneath Santa Maria della Piazza in Ancona; interesting Romanesque mural paintings are found in Fabriano and Pesaro. Romanesque paintings have also recently come to light in the churches of San Gregorio and Santa Maria inter vineas in Ascoli.
The Rimini school left numerous works in the region (Mercatello, Urbino, Sant’Agata Feltria) and the imposing frescoes of the Cappellone di San Nicola in Tolentino, attributed to Barozio; similarly, the Bolognese school had a very significant impact on the region’s painting (polyptych by Andrea da Bologna in Fermo, frescoes in Offida, etc.). The Venetian school, already present in the 14th century, asserted itself further in the following century and exerted considerable influence on the formation of local schools. Their major centers were in San Severino (Jacopo and Lorenzo Salimbeni [v.]), Fabriano (Allegretto Nuzi, Gentile, and Antonio), and finally Camerino, by then with Renaissance tendencies (Giovanni Boccati and others). In Urbino, in the second half of the 15th century, a school flourished under the influence of artists who came to the court of the Montefeltro (Piero della Francesca, Melozzo da Forlì, Pedro Berruguete, Giusto di Gand); its leading representatives were Giovanni Santi, whose fame is overshadowed by that of his son Raphael, Timoteo Viti, and Evangelista da Pian di Meleto. Throughout the Renaissance, Tuscan and other regional artists were active in the Marches, such as the aforementioned Pietro and Melozzo, as well as Signorelli in Loreto and Arcevia, Giovanni Bellini, Crivelli (who made the Marches his second home), and finally Lorenzo Lotto, who left many of his works there. In short, although the Marches did not give rise to a school of great and decisive importance, they actively participated in Renaissance painting and gave birth to two of the greatest Italian artists: Gentile da Fabriano (v.) ANZIO (v.). It should also be noted that the Marches are rich in frescoes, many of them still unpublished. Among the local Renaissance artists, mention should also be made of Stefano Folchetti of San Ginesio, Lorenzo di Alessandro of San Severino, Vincenzo Pagani, Pier Paolo Agabiti of Sassoferrato, Taddeo and Federico Zuccari, and finally the great transitional painter between the Renaissance and Baroque, Federico Barocci of Urbino. For the 17th century, it suffices to mention G. B. Salvi, known as Sassoferrato from his birthplace, and for the 18th century, Carlo Maratta (mainly active in Rome, a native of Camerano near Ancona). The best-known 19th-century artist from the Marches is the little-known Francesco Podesti, who also executed numerous frescoes in the Vatican. See also UMBRO-MARCHIGIANA, SCUOLA. — See plates II-III.