Santa Maria Maddalena, also called the Chiesa della Beata Mattia is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic church and monastery located on a cul de sac of Via Beata Mattia #39, where it intersects with Via Damiano Chiesa, in Matelica, province of Macerata, region of Marche, Italy.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Santuario_di_Santa_Maria_Maddalena_%28Beata_Mattia%29%2C_Matelica%2C_01.jpg/220px-Santuario_di_Santa_Maria_Maddalena_%28Beata_Mattia%29%2C_Matelica%2C_01.jpg)
History
editThe church is among the oldest in Matelica and construction began in 1225, when a group of Clarissine nuns, including Sister Mattia, established a convent. In 1765, the Sister was beatified, and the church is known for Blessed Mattia. The church has a tall campanile, which served as an overlook for the southern approach to the city. An earthquake in 1740 caused major damage, and in 1750, the church underwent a major reconstruction, including the formulation of a baroque façade, work commissioned by Enrico Mattei and using designs of Gaetano Maggi and Domenico Luigi Valeri.
The interiors were built still maintaining a screened separation of the cloistered nuns from the lay public. The columns are colored in scagliola. The main altar houses the incorrupt body of the Blessed Mattia in a glass case.[1]
In the monastery, which extends to the right of the facades are housed some of the works of art from the site including a 13th-century painted Crucifix with Madonna and John the Baptist. The church contains a Madonna and Child painted by 13th-century Masters, including Maestro della Culla.[2]
References
edit- ^ Tourism office of Macerata, by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio Provincia di Macerata, entry on the church.
- ^ Comune of Matelica, artistic patrimony.