At the centre of the choir stood a magnificent polyptych (1465), painted with tempera on wood, by Niccolò di Libertatore, known as Niccolò The Pupil. When the church was sacked during the Napoleonic period,
the painting was removed and has been on display at the Brera Art Gallery in Milan since 1811, where it is know as the "Cagli Polyptych".
The interior of the church underwent a series of disfigurements. These began with the re-plastering and whitewashing of the walls in 1579 which covered the various cycles of frescoes. Traces of these have
re-emerged, including the 15th Century Madonna Enthroned with Child and Holy Hermit and Saint Catherine. The closure and re-positioning of the original
single windows altered the quality of the interior light but the greatest transformation was to the frescoed hexagonal Gothic apse which was concealed by the lower semi-elliptical vault which we see today.
The powerful but elegant polychrome marble portal dates from 1348 and consists of a round frontal arch with quadrangular piers alternating with spiral columns.
It is topped by capitals mounted on corbels which are decorated with small acanthus leaves. The architrave is composed of segments of notched stone which are jointed together.
The 14th Century fresco in the lunette depicts The Madonna of Succour, of Joy, of the Lambs, with Saints Francis and John the Baptist and is attributed to Guido Palmerucci. T
he side walls, which are decorated with pilaster strips, have elongated single windows. The polygonal apse, with its five high pilaster strips which end in high
vaulted arches, are dominated by the soaring 40 mt high campanile with its 12 mt brick pinnacle.
The church has been described by one leading historian
as the "emblem of central Apennine Gothic architecture". Its vast interior is in the form of a single nave. Beside the first altar on the right are two
fragments of frescoes attributed to Antonio Alberti of Ferrara which probably date back before 1438. On the left we see the Miracle of Rimini - a hungry mule kneels
in reverence before the consecrated Host which Saint Anthony of Padua has raised before it, refusing the oats proffered by the amazed young boy. In the other
fresco, Saint Anthony reattaches a youth's leg which had been cut off in punishment for having insulted his mother by kicking her - she appears as the figure praying in the small crowd.
Beneath this is a tombstone with putti in bas relief, dating from the second half of the 15th Century. The original altarpiece by Simon Cantarini was taken away
by Napoleonic troops. The painting which replaced it is The Miracle of the Snow, painted by Schaychis in the first half of the 17th Century.
In the niche, constructed in 1838, covered by the above mentioned altar piece which sits on a sliding rail, is the statue of Saint Anthony of Padua with Jesus,
mentioned in a document of 1794. The ornate stone altar (second right) was built by Mastro Taddeo Bonaventura of Città di Castello in 1598. The painting
which originally stood on it, by Federico Barocci, is now to be found at the Church of Pio Sodalizio Piceno in Rome. In its place is a modest painting of Jesus Appearing to Saint Rita (1939).
Moving on to the third altar, we find Gaetano Lapis' Madonna of the Snow (1730), painted when he was still only 24 years of age. It depicts the miracle in which,
during the reign of Pope Liberius (352-366), it snowed one August night on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, at the place which the Virgin had pointed out to Saint
Bonaventure and Saint Matthias as the place where the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was to be built . Beside the altar is a tomb stone carved by Mastro Antonio of
Cagli in 1372 for the body of the Blessed Giovannino who, since 1641, has rested at the base of altar.
The two canvasses to the sides of the triumphal arch
(and also the one to the left of the organ) are by Francesco Battaglini of Imola, painted in 1529. They represent The Madonna Enthroned with Child and Mary Magdalene who is offering anointing oil,
Saints Clare and Monica and finally Saints Ludovic and Anthony of Padua. The painting which now stands at the centre of the apse, above the walnut choir stalls, is The Stigmata of Saint Francis
(17th Century), after Barocci.
The third altar on the left holds a 19th Century Crucifix and reliquary busts. The ornate stone altar which
stands next to it is the work of the Cagli stone-worker Elpidio Finale, dated 1622. The bas reliefs illustrate scenes from the life of Saint Francis of Assisi and the
Franciscan saints. The altarpiece on the first altar on the left, by Raffaellino del Colle depicts The Madonna and Child and Saints Rocco, Francis, Geronzio, Stephen and Sebastian (1540).
At the centre of the wide choir loft stands the oldest organ in the Marche region. Its construction is attributed to Baldassare Malamini and it was built in the last decade of the 16th Century.
text by Albert Mazzacchera
