Church of Santa Maria Nuova – Fano

The construction of the Church of Santa Maria Nuova, chosen by the Friars Minor Observant as their seat in 1519, was realized on the area of the ancient church of San Salvatore.

The facade of the church presents a three arches portico supported by Corinthian columns with a ribbed vault, realized in 1498 by Bernardino di Pietro da Carona, which anticipates the actual access, allowed through a portal that leads into the interior of a single hall. Along the nave there are eight altars painted in faux marble, on which some altarpieces works by prestigious artists such as Giovanni Santi and Perugino are preserved.

The nave ends with a deep presbytery, decorated with eighteenth-century stuccoes; also in the apse area there is the wooden choir made by Antonio and Andrea Barili of Siena between 1484 and 1489.

Currently, the church is managed by the Archaeological Museum and Pinacoteca of the Palazzo Malatestiano, whose prestigious collections, divided into sections according to the type (archaeological, ceramics, collection of paintings and numismatics) are housed in the monumental building, built by the will of the noble and ancient Malatesta family.