Monastery and Church of San Francesco alle Fratte

Monastery and Church of San Francesco alle Fratte

Tradition has it that it was St. Francis of Assisi, who founded the church and its monastery whilst on a pilgrimage to the Piceno between 1209 and 1215.The name derives from the location of the building, surrounded by dense vegetation (in dialect precisely “fratte”) above a hill not far from the centre of Montalto.

Felice Peretti entered the monastery in 1531, where he took his vows the following year under the custody of his uncle Fra’Salvatore Ricci, observing the Franciscan tradition with the name of Fra Felice from Montalto. The church annexed to the monastery has a characteristic semi-circular apse and frescoes dating back to the 14^th century, clearly influenced by Giotto.

With the convent suppressed in 1861, the church continued to be used for celebrations in the last century, despite having become private property in the meantime.