Deconsecrated 15th century church that preserves all the romantic atmosphere of the place, located on the edge of the Tennacola stream, but within walking distance from the town centre.
The Church, even though it has documented historical importance, has no restrictions on its use, except for the moral commitment of the current owners to sell it to those who will be able to guarantee a prudent recovery of the paintings it contains.
The property is composed of the Church and the parish priest's house, all in good structural state of preservation. The shape of the building creates a corner of the courtyard on the south side facing the torrent which is a natural solarium area even in winter.
The interior of the house and the sacristy are characterised by a large room with cross vaults and wooden and terracotta floors. The characteristics of the church deserve the reading of the "Cenni Storici" taken from the writings of the architect Giuseppe Gentili :
CHURCH OF THE MADONNA OF LORETO
Historical notes
The church of the "Madonna di Loreto" was built in the 15th century by the "Corporazione della Lana" of Sarnano, made up of artisans dedicated to weaving and dyeing fabrics, on the old route of the Piceno road, Macerata-Ascoli Piceno.
In 1619 the church was partly rebuilt and restructured as it appears to us today, out of devotion to the Madonna di Loreto, in relation to the passage of the pilgrims who went from the south to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Loreto, to the north and to Assisi in Umbria.
The church does not have a traditional facade but only a window, the entrances are located on the two long sides of the nave because the function had to be that of direct entrance from the road for pilgrims coming from the south to Loreto and then crossing the nave stop for prayer and exit on the opposite side of the door where to continue the pilgrimage to Loreto. The church was then crossed inside, pay homage to the Madonna placed in a small wooden house on the Altar and then go out and continue the route. On feast days or on special occasions services were celebrated, but the church was always open.
The building consists of a single nave with a rectangular plan of about m.17.30 x 7.50 and about m.8.00 high, oriented with the main north-east south-west axis; the entrance is on the south-west side while on the opposite side there is the Sacristy with a roof in heavy cross vaults probably dating back to the 16th century.
On the side adjacent to the stream there is the Priest's house on two floors, for a total of about 118 square metres.
The nave of the Church is covered with a barrel vault made in a chamber with reeds and plaster anchored to the wooden trusses forming the supporting structure of the roof. The upper part of the walls and the whole vault are decorated with paintings relating to the Madonna of Loreto, paintings dating back to the 17th century of valuable workmanship especially in the use of perspective.