Santa Maria in Vescovio

Located on a large and quiet valley, with a very large field in front with beautiful trees, the complex is made up by the Sanctuary, by the small area of excavations of the ancient Roman city of Forum Novum and by the ruins of a convent on teh brim of the rising to the right of the Sanctuary; it is a very pleasant place to stop.
Of the rest of the remains of the important Roman city, a Municipium, only a small part is visible, object of recent excavations to the left of the Sanctuary. But there is a lot of evidence of the importance of this settlement at the epic situated at the meeting point of the various streets and headquarters of an important market with temples, served by an aqueduct, and furnished with spas and public baths.

It is certain that in the second half of the third century, a Christian community already existed here and that it soon became a "sede vescovile" (bishop's headquarters); "Vescovio", in fact, is the ancient term for "Vescovado".
Subject to changing fortunes, as the major part of the church the sanctuary was constructed, destroyed, reconstructed, and enlarged from the 7th century to the 12th century, era from which there is a beautiful portal, a type of prothyrum, by which today you reach the church.
Probably constructed between the 10th and 11th century is the elegant Romanesque belltower in brick, with reinforced angles with square blocks of stone.
From the mid-1500's, the Church, no longer bishop's headquarters, began to relentlessly decay, even if in the same period the majestic building was erected, today in ruins at the summit of a hill, for the habitation of diverse Orders which alternated in the care of the Sanctuary until the beginning half of the 1700's.
The interior of the church was entirely decorated by a cycle of paintings which illustrate the Old and New Testament, dating back to the 13th century; they are considered works of the students of the great Cavallini.
That which we see today, around half, is that which surfaces from under a layer of limestone whitening, probably from the 1800's, and the actual appearance of the complex is the result of careful restoration carried out around 1930.
In the walls, you find numerous bare monuments, such as the beautiful Corinthian capital of the crypt.
On holidays the park opposite the church is a popular location for picnics.