Church of Santa Maria in Portuno

The church of Santa Maria in Portuno, in Madonna del Piano, is the oldest architectural testimony of Corinaldo and also the oldest church of the diocese of Senigallia. The apse of the church and the remains of the crypt place the building between the sixth and seventh centuries. The same previous name of Santa Maria in Portuno (river deity of the pagan world) refers to the fact that at this point there was probably a ford on the river Cesano. The church, which has undergone profound changes over the centuries, in the early Middle Ages was certainly the most important and rich sacred place of the territory of Corindola. Belonged to the monastery of Avellanthus first and then to the Germanic College, it underwent many modifications during its long life. Originally the church was three aisles and with a crypt below buried. Other interventions, which altered its original characteristics, were carried out in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries both in the church and in adjacent structures. The building is now a single nave with truss roof and apse. On the right wall three columns from the Roman era were found that originally divided the nave from the right now incorporated in the adjacent building. In the marble altar, perhaps moved here on the occasion of the destruction of the church of San Pietro di Corinaldo, there is a fresco depicting the Madonna del Buon Conforto dated 1540 attributable to the school of Vincenzo Pagani. On the left there are two 15th century frescoes by an unknown local artist depicting the Madonna del Latte. In the apse is preserved a Magdalene at the foot of the Cross, work of great intensity expressive Claudio Ridolfi. Since 2001, the research and excavation work has been undertaken by the Department of Archaeology of the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendence of the Marches. The excavations, still in progress, as well as the various stratifications dating back to the Roman period, have highlighted a substantial amount of burial. The crypt below the high altar and the foundations of several buildings that have been built over the centuries have been brought to light, so much to constitute an archaeological park. In the premises near the sacristy of the church since 2005 a museum has been set up that documents all the phases of the excavations carried out so far. The Antiquarium of S. Maria in Portuno with drawings, panels and materials found during the excavation, allows adults and children to fully explore the richness of the site.