Nestled in the green Conero Park and located at an altitude of about 450 meters, the Abbey of San Pietro al Conero is one of the most striking examples of Romanesque architecture in the Marche region. Founded at least as early as 1038, as attested by a coeval document, the abbey was born in a monastic context shared with the hermitage of St. Benedict. The peaceful coexistence between the two religious nuclei continued until 1518, when the intervention of the bishop of Ancona entrusted the abbey to the hermits of Santa Maria Gonzaga, and later to the Camaldolese Congregation, giving rise to tensions and conflicts.
A crucial event was the fire of 1558, which led the Gonzaga people to abandon the site for good. From then on, the management of the abbey remained in the hands of the Camaldolese until the Unification of Italy. Of the original vast monastic complex, only the Romanesque church, restored in the first decades of the 13th century, survives today.
The church has a basilica plan with three naves, divided by composite pillars alternating with cylindrical columns. The facade, in a sober, linear style, dates from the 18th century, while the bell tower can be dated to the 13th century.
Of extraordinary significance is the sculptural apparatus. The capitals of the nave, attributable to the 12th century, are embellished with refined zoomorphic decorations inspired by the Romanesque Po Valley symbolic bestiary, denoting remarkable plastic skill and vivid expressiveness. In the crypt, on the other hand, the capitals – dating from the 11th century – present simpler and stylized forms, with cubic or Corinthian imitation types, less elaborate than those in the upper church but still of great historical and artistic value.
The adjoining building, which once housed the Benedictine monastery, has been expertly restored and now houses a charming accommodation facility, which welcomes visitors and pilgrims in search of peace and beauty in a unique natural setting overlooking the Conero Riviera.
