Art, Faith and Science

Places of worship are spread throughout the whole territory: impressive churches, small country parishes - standing near hermitages or ancient monasteries-  and very beautiful abbeys.

 The  Romanic Abbey of S. Maria in Selva still keeps some features  of the Cistercian monasteries: the residences of monks and the grancia (the ancient granary). Humble peasants coming back home from work used to kneel down  on the two stones outside the church, under the windows, not  to disturbe the prayers of the monks.

 In the Sanctuary of the Holy  Crucifix there is a sculpture of polychrome wood made in the 15th century by an unknown artist (Donatello, according to some experts’ opinion,  or the Angels, according to the folk tradition). The face of Christ  shows three aspects of his final sacrifice : Love (suffering for redeeming humanity), the Cross (the maximum penalty), Death (fair to bear!)

St. Chiara is a church in  Baroque style; it is very interesting especially because there is a statue of the Madonna of Loreto which is said to be the original one. During the Napoleonic Wars, in fact,  the Visitandine Sisters took the original statue of the Virgin from Loreto to Treia, fearing that Napoleon’s troops  could steal and bring it to Paris, and a copy was put in its place. According to the tradition, the original statue of the Madonna of Loreto was never given back, and so it still is in Treia!

The Cathedral was made by architect Andrea Vici, a follower of Vanvitelli. The church is one of the most important in the Marche Region. Many excellent works are kept inside: a “Deposizione di Cristo” by Vincenzo Pagani; an altar-piece representing “The Virgin appears to Blessed Pietro da Treia and Corrado da Offida near Forano”; a bust of Pope Sisto V by Bastiano Torrigiani, known as “Il Bologna”. A copy of this bust is kept in Victoria and Albert Museum (London).

Treia is a city, which is literally surrounded by art, a land where brick gave its best especially in neoclassical architecture. It is impossible not to be fascinated by the façades of buildings, which hide wonderfully frescoed rooms, well-preserved pieces of furniture and incomparable treasures.

The Georgic Academy, in particular, keeps  antique manuscripts, incunabolas, parchments and Imperial and papal bulls; it was made by the famous architect Valadier.

The Academy keeps documents and studies about the Maceratino, the grapevine named Montecchiese (from Montecchio, the name of Treia in Middle Ages) which is the father of the Verdicchio wine.

The Georgic Academy was famous all over Europe for the exceptional results of its studies in agriculture: the first experiments on the oil extraction from seeds and the first weather reports.

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