Nestled in the rolling hills of Fermo, the municipality of Montegiorgio extends on a hill from which you can glimpse the Monte Conero to the north, the massive of Gran Sasso along the southern horizon, the Adriatic Sea to the east and the famous “Monti Azzurri” of Giacomo Leopardi to the west. At the highest point of the country, on top of a hill which was once called Cafagnano stands a church which was originally entitled to santa Maria in Georgio and joint in a rather extended monastery of the Benedictine monks of Farfa. It was built around the early years of the thirteenth century and it was donated in 1263 to the Cardinal Gaetani who gave it to the Minor Friars Order.
Following the offer, the Church was consecrated to San Francesco from Assisi and the hill which stands out as a beacon of divine providence has assimilated his name. In 1585 the sacred building underwent a substantial number of interventions that altered the original appearance of the complex. The facade is decorated with a splendid portal in Istrian stone that according to the near travertine panel was built in 1325 by a “magister gallus”. The asp, the basilisk and the lion accompanying the capitals of the jambs, (symbolizing Christian-medieval tradition respectively: despair, presumption and arrogance) , raise particular curiosity.
Above the wooden door, however, it is set the coat of arms of Pope Sisto V, under which the massive work transformations of the church were carried out . Crossing the threshold entry door, you have the impression that the divine grandeur is transposed by the monumentality of the entire internal structure, consisting of a single nave with a barrel vault and a series of majestic Doric columns. On the north side of the church there is an opening that leads into the small “ farfense” chapel, the only body of the thirteenth-century monastery survived the various transformations. Inside there are housed tombs of eminent families such as Patti, Alaleona, Zenobi, but the beautiful frescoes adorning them above, seem to raise interest. In the eight sections of the vault, divided into two different registers the various moments of a much loved story by the Franciscans , are narrated with masterful expressiveness: Adam and the true cross