The CHURCHS in Cerreto

CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA ANNUNZIATA
(Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation)
It is a one-nave parish church, whose stone portal dates back to 1529. The original XIII century building is still partly visible in the two sculptures outside the church. Inside, there is XVI century baptismal font: it is octagonal, decorated with relieves and surmounted by a cupola. The carvings are arranged in two lines: the lower line consists of eight panels with the sculptures of several saints and the scene of the baptism in the Jordan river; the higher line represents the four evangelists alternated with faces of cherubs and fantastic animals. On the left of the main entrance there is a 1668 holy-water font. Above the holy font there is AN organ of 1600 by Ascanio Puggini, restored by the famous Cerretan organ maker Armodio Maccioni. The lateral altars, with a wood and golden baluster, date back to the XVI century; inside them, there are paintings of the XVII century and a multicoloured statue of the Madonna dei Miracoli, protector of the town.

SANTA MARIA DELIBERA
The two-tiered building dates back to the Renaissance period, and its origins are linked to a miraculous image of the Virgin Mary. The word “delibera” indicates Mary as “liberator”, “the one who saves”. In the middle of the façade, charachterised by a sloping roof, there is a moulding marking the division of the building into an upper and a lower level. The XV century portal ends with a round arch. Inside there are several paintings, among which: a Madonna with the Child, Saint Anthony and Saint Lucy Felice Damiani (1581); “Madonna of Mercy”, a XVI century fresco; two frescoes reproducing the flight to Egypt and the rest after the flight (XVIII and XIX century); and in the apse the “Coronation of the Virgin Mary”, with angels, sibyls and prophets, attributed to Callisto di Giannicola da Cerreto (1535). In the upper level, which was formerly the Oratory of the Misericordia, there is a painting by Camillo Angelucci: “The Crucifixion” (1544.).

CHIESA DI S. NICOLA
(St. Nicholas’s church)
Only the external walls of this XIII century church located in the old town are still visible today and have recently been restored.

MONASTERO DI S. GIACOMO
(St. James’s monastery)
Built in the XII century, it is located in the lower part of the town, next to the “cerretana”, the road from Borgo up to Cerreto. Here lived, until 1783, the Benedictine nuns. The façade outside the left aisle is decorated with a portal ending with an ogival arch; a cross is engraved in the lunette. Inside the church there are frescoes of the XIV, XV and XVI century, representing the Announciation, the Crucifixion, the Universal Judgement, various saints and the Holy Trinity. Moreover there are some XVII century paintings, previously collocated by the altars, and a XVI century altar-piece by Camillo Angelucci da Mevale.. Today it is the headquarters of the CEDRAV, Centre for Anthropological Research and Documentation in Valnerina and in the Apennines’s chain -Umbria Region.