Abbey of Santa Maria delle Moie

The Abbey of Santa Maria was erected by Benedictine monks in Moie, in the province of Ancona, after the land reclamation. The church, the emblem of the town, was located in the middle of the forest known as Santa, in a wooded area known as Silva Carpineta, on the edge of the left bank of the Esino. Located along the ancient via Flanbenga, the abbey of Santa Maria was founded at the beginning of the 11th century by the Attoni-Alberici-Gozoni family as a private monastery. The church is built with square yellowish sandstone. It is divided into three naves, with the central one slightly higher than the lateral ones, ending with a semicircular apse on the east side. On the north side there are two decorated apses projecting outwards. At the entrance there is a square atrium flanked by two rooms, the left houses a spiral staircase. The beautiful portal is decorated with interlaced leaves and flowers. The most interesting elements of the Abbey of Moie are the apses and above all the immissa Greek cross plan, a scheme referring to a Byzantine influence that coexists with a Lombard architecture, in particular in the sober treatment of the external wall surfaces, with blind arches and pilasters. The constructive peculiarities of the Abbey can be found in other religious constructions in the Marches and elsewhere, for example the Abbey Church of Santa Maria di Portonovo in Ancona, the Cathedral of Bobbio and San Giovanni in Como where, as in Moie, the entrance span between the two towers is combined with a women's gallery.The interior, in semi-darkness, is very evocative and from an artistic point of view has some works to admire. There is a wall painting of the 16th century depicting St. Anthony the Abbot, a panel dedicated to Mary with Child by an anonymous painter and on the main altar a crucifix of the 18th century. A painting of the Madonna to whom the church is dedicated, instead, adorned the high altar. The Madonna della Misericordia is very much venerated in the Vallesina and in the Marche, in fact there are several reproductions of it.