The historic center of Torre San Patrizio: the complete itinerary

The itinerary of the historic center of Torre San Patrizio is designed starting from the ancient entrance gate of the town, and then stopping in 5 stages that represent the historical-artistic excellence of the town, its curiosities and its splendid panorama.

The historic center of Torre San Patrizio is small, so this itinerary can be done entirely on foot, from one stage to the next there are only a few minutes of walking. The route can last from a couple of hours to half a day, depending on how long you want to stop at each stage. The ideal is to park at the gates of the town and then enjoy a relaxing walk among history and works of art, the car could be useful for visiting the surroundings of Torre San Patrizio and for stopping to eat in one of the exquisite farmhouses in the surrounding countryside.

The crisp morning air is the right time to start our itinerary in the historic center of Torre San Patrizio. It is a small village that we will be able to walk around without even getting tired, so put on a pair of comfortable shoes and start our adventure. Even before entering the village, we can imagine how this small village, perched on the hill, might have appeared in the Middle Ages. Solid defensive walls surrounded the entire town, which still retains its medieval characteristics and structure. Today, part of the walls is incorporated between the houses and in some places have been destroyed, but the walls that still exist are well representative of the past of Torre San Patrizio.

Let's head towards the entrance of the village, let's go up together on the road that leads us to one of the ancient access gates: the Porta da Sol, the gate has a slight pointed arch and is magnificently preserved. There was another access gate to the village: Porta da Bora, which was destroyed during the Second World War. The gates were placed according to the cardinal points, the Porta da Sol is to the east, the Porta da Bora was to the north. It always has a strong impact to enter the heart of a village through a gate that has resisted for centuries. The stone-paved street invites us to continue our walk, we pass through the arch and see where we emerge.

The little road takes us to Piazza Umberto I, from this point you can enjoy a wonderful panorama that extends over the entire surrounding countryside and on clear days you can even see the Gran Sasso and Monte Conero. The gaze runs quickly from the mountains to the horizon of the sea. The panorama is one of the characteristics of Torre San Patrizio, Piazza Umberto I certainly offers one of the best, but we will stop every now and then to capture a view from another observation point.

On the square, leaning against the Porta da Sol from which we entered, stands the Palazzo Comunale, a 16th century building, with a beautiful civic tower. The entrance to the building seems to suggest that inside there are various surprises, worthy of being seen, but we will return to this shortly. We continue to look around, on the square there is also the church of the Santissimo Salvatore, from the 18th century, while in the niche of a house the bust of Saint Patrick, the venerated Patron of the city, peers at us, to whom every year a celebration is dedicated on the 17th of March. For that date the whole town dresses in green, solemn processions advance in the village and playful entertainment fills the streets to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.

After this overview of the main square of the town, we return to the Town Hall, let's go in! Inside there is the Council Hall, it is a typical medieval room, with brick walls, hanging we see various works of art and in the center the banner with the representative coat of arms of Torre San Patrizio, a proud tower with a lion at its top. We continue walking to the base of the civic tower of the palace and here we discover an ancient medieval cistern, which served to convey water and stock it.

The real surprise of this palace are the ancient medieval caves. Once under the town there was an intricate network of tunnels and passages, built in the medieval period, it passed through the basements of all the houses. Unfortunately, many were destroyed around the 1960s, but those under the town hall still exist and can be visited.

After being in the dark for a long time, we return to the sunlight and head towards the fourth stop of our itinerary in the historic center of Torre San Patrizio, reaching the new stop will also give us the opportunity to walk through the city streets, the alleys and breathe in the authentic atmosphere of this ancient village. From Piazza Umberto I, we take Via Giuseppe Mazzini, we continue along this street observing everything that surrounds us, after a few minutes of walking we will arrive at Via Roma, shortly after on the right we take Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, at number 48 there is our destination: the church of the Madonna delle Rose.

It is among the oldest churches in the town and represents a small architectural jewel dating back to the 15th century restored to its ancient splendor thanks to recent restoration work. The church is owned by the Confraternity of the SS. Sacramento. The Confraternity have always been very important for the history of Torre San Patrizio, they were the ones who managed the grain store, which was located nearby and represented a mutual aid organization for all the farmers who needed it. Inside the church there is a single nave and many treasures. Here we find a polychrome wooden sculpture reproducing the Holy House of Loreto, the painting of the Madonna delle Rose by Luigi Fontana, from which the church takes its name; a Romanesque braided holy water stoup, of considerable value, obtained from a capital. Here we can also observe the ancient robes of the Confraternity. The rarest jewel contained inside the little church of the Madonna delle Rose is a 15th century fresco The Madonna del Latte, a masterpiece of Renaissance art, signed by Pierpalma da Fermo.

Before heading towards the last destination, let's wander around the streets and alleys of the town, the historic center is small so there is no fear of getting lost. Let's take our time to browse and stop in the places that seem most suggestive to relax and take some souvenir photos. Traveling is an adventure that is always new and different from our daily life, let's be surprised by the different habits, the picturesque views and the scents that we notice in the air.

Leaving the church of the Madonna delle Rose we retrace our steps, to the point where we began our exploration, Piazza Umberto I, the central square from where you could enjoy that incredible view. In this square we have not yet entered the church of SS. Salvatore. The church is from the 13th century, but was remodeled in the 18th, the external brick facade has a simple appearance, but its bell tower stands out for its height. Inside the church we find some truly special works, a precious processional cross in silver and copper from the 15th century made in the Marche region, there are also various canvases and an ancient and rare print representing a Via Crucis. Let's sit on one of the benches and absorb the atmosphere of peace and silence that you breathe in this sacred place. Once out of the church we return once again to look out over the splendid panorama. Now we are ready to go and discover the surroundings of Torre San Patrizio...