Cathedral of Jesi.
The Piazza Federico II in Jesi is named after the most famous man ever to have been born in this town in the Marche: Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (1194-1250), King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor. At the far end of the square stands the cathedral of the town, which very clearly does not date from Frederick’s era. On the façade we read the year 1889, and the building behind it arose in the eighteenth century. Inside only the lions of red Verona marble, which once supported columns but are now used as holy water stoups, remind us of the time of the greatest monarch of the Middle Ages. It is, by the way, rather unlikely that Frederick himself ever saw these lions from ca. 1227-1237. Although he was born in Jesi, he was taken to Foligno shortly after birth and then to Assisi (see Assisi: Rocca Maggiore). And although he lovingly called Jesi his “Bethlehem”, he never returned to his place of birth.
The Duomo
According to tradition the first bishop of Jesi was a certain Septimius (San Settimio). He had been sent to the region by Pope Marcellus (308-309) to convert the population to Christianity. His mission seems to have been a success, but unfortunately the Roman authorities condemned him to death and he was subsequently martyred. The story does not sound very credible. Pope Marcellus did not become bishop of Rome until 308 (see Rome: San Marcello al Corso), while Septimius is said to have been martyred in 307. We know very little about the first cathedral of Jesi. It was probably dedicated to Jesus Christ (Santissimo Salvatore) and to Saint Septimius. During the life of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, in 1208, the construction of a new Romanesque cathedral was started by order of bishop Dago. The façade was built by Giorgio da Como, who was also responsible for the portal which was supported by the aforementioned marble lions.
Interior of the cathedral.
The body of Saint Septimius was rediscovered in 1469 during a renovation of the cathedral ordered by bishop Tommaso Ghisleri (1463-1505). This renovation in Renaissance style was completed during the episcopate of bishop Angelo Ripanti (1505-1513). Ripanti’s tomb, a work by the fairly obscure Giovanni di Gabriele da Como, can still be admired in the Duomo. One of Ripanti’s most famous successors was Camillo Borghese (1552-1621), who served as bishop of Jesi between 1597 and 1599. In 1605 he was elected Pope Paulus V, and it was his name that would end up on the façade of new Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. For obvious reasons a man like Camillo Borghese was not buried in the Duomo of Jesi. Pope Paulus V rests in his own chapel in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the Eternal City.
Antonio Fonseca was bishop of Jesi between 1724 and 1763, and in these 39 years he wanted to do something memorable. He therefore hired the Roman architect Filippo Barigioni (1672-1753), who between 1732 and 1741 demolished the old Duomo and built an entirely new cathedral in the style of the Late Baroque. The bell-tower was added between 1782 and 1784 by the local architect Francesco Matellicani. Only in the nineteenth century did the Duomo get its present façade, which was designed by Gaetano Morichini. The assignment to provide the cathedral with a new façade came from Rambaldo Magagnini, bishop between 1872 and 1892. His name is also mentioned on the façade, together with the year 1889. The most recent additions to the cathedral are the beautiful bronze doors. These were made in 2000 by Paolo Annibali (1958).
Marble lions.
In the niches of the façade we find statues of Pope Marcellus (left, with a tiara) and Saint Septimius (right). The statues are dime-a-dozen decorations, while the interior of the Duomo is not very special either. The large apse fresco featuring Saint Septimius on Christ’s right hand side was painted by Biagio Biagetti (1877-1948). Of much greater interest are the aforementioned lions by Giorgio da Como and the aforementioned Renaissance tomb of bishop Angelo Ripanti, which both come from the old cathedral. Also from the old cathedral comes a painting of the preaching of Saint John the Baptist, a work by Filippo Bellini (ca. 1550-1604) from Urbino, a student of the more famous Federico Barocci.
Museo Diocesano
Museo Diocesano of Jesi. On the walls the works of Domenico Luigi Valeri.
The museum of the diocese is housed in the eighteenth-century Palazzo Ripanti Nuovo, just a stone’s throw away from the Duomo. Visitors enter in a room of which the walls are covered with large paintings by the local painter Domenico Luigi Valeri (1701-1770). We got a friendly reception by a museum employee, who informed us that the visit was free and who apologised for the disorderly state of the museum; at the time the Museo Diocesano was rearranging the rooms. I believe that, in the end, we could visit four rooms, while there should be nine in total. However, I do not think that we missed important artworks because of the renovation.
One of the most interesting works was a triptych from ca. 1440 by Giovanni Antonio Bellinzoni da Pesaro (ca. 1415-1478), of whom I had previously seen work in Pergola. The work features a Madonna and Child, flanked by Saint John the Baptist and a bishop, perhaps Saint Septimius. It is possible that only the central panel of the Madonna and Child is original. The side panels have a slightly different colour, while the accompanying information panel only mentions the Madonna in trono con Bambino. The triptych comes from the former church of San Amico in Jesi, but in the Duomo hangs a replica of the central panel in one of the chapels. This, by the way, adds weight to my theory that only the central panel has been preserved in its original form.
Madonna and Child – Giovanni Antonio Bellinzoni da Pesaro.
Other interesting objects in the museum are a wooden Deposition from the second half of the thirteenth century and a crucifix with Christ and the symbols of the four evangelists from the fifteenth century. More modern works are a Madonna and Child from 1504, attributed to Eusebio da San Giorgio (ca. 1465-1539), and an Immaculate Conception from ca. 1625 by Antonino Sarti (1580-1647). None of these works are masterpieces, but for a free museum the Museo Diocesano has a pretty good collection.
Sources: Bradt travel guide Umbria & the Marche (2021), p. 238, information panels in the Duomo and Duomo di Jesi – Wikipedia