Situated along Gaspare Spontini Street and erected around 1430, it is dedicated to St. Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity. It was consecrated in 1723 and often restored. Later the church was fitted with a marble altar dating back to the seventeenth century, coming from the church of S. Francesco dei Frati Minori of Jesi. Above the front door you can admire a beautiful Baroque-Rococo wooden choir, donated by Gaspare Spontini to the parish church whose priest was his brother Don Antonio.
Erected towards the end of the eighteenth century and designed by Arch. Giannantonio Mengoni with Paolo Isidoro Capponi’s approval.
It holds an altar-piece depicting The Virgin with the Apostles (1620) by Cristoforo Roncalli, known as Pomarancio.
Here you can also admire a cup (1523) from the former church of Santa Maria d'Arco and a marble and wooden baptismal font dating 1708.
In the choir stalls above the front door, you will find the organ built by Feliciano Fedeli from Camerino in 1737 and restored in 1993.
By virtue of a decree of the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, Castelplanio was granted the title of city on 11 July 2006.
Come here and taste its famous dish: the “Crescia sul Panaro”!
Since the 1950s and 1960s it has been a poor food prepared with a few basic ingredients. It is made of polenta, that is a maize flour cooked in water within a special container, the "callaro", where it was continuously stirred by hand with the aid of a particular ladle, a sort of long wooden cylinder with three or four metal edges on the bottom.
Since those lean years, when people could not afford to waste anything and leave it unused or eat it reluctantly, the left polenta was then reused by mixing it with a bit of wheat flour, kneaded it again (this time by hand) giving shape to the so-called "cresciola." . Then it was put on to the panaro, a metal plate with a long handle, a kind of pan without edges . See if you can find it in our country houses , hanging on the wall or in the fireplace; today it is no longer a working tool, but only an ornament.
Wrapped in a large yellow sheet and holding it in your hands, taste the crescia with vegetables (chard, chicory, wild herbs ...), ham or sausages.
It can be also a sweet crescia when fried and covered with sugar or chocolate cream. It is a delicious dish, not only for children.
Treat yourself to a pleasant “voyage of taste” into the traditional flavors of our cuisine and celebrate with us Castelplanio’s summer festival: “ La crescia sul panaro”. This year (2013) is the 40th edition.
The crescia is now stirred by a far more practical mechanical arm that operates automatically in the container-mixer in ordert to satisfy the hunger of so many visitors from the neighbouring villages and towns of Vallesina and of Ancona and even from other countries.
Castelplanio is one of the last places in the Marche to have put the tradition of the crescia to an excellent level.
The Pro Loco Castelplanio is ready to celebrate the special 40th edition of Crescia sul Panaro Festival with two long weekends (12-14 July and 19 to 21 July). Do not miss it!
Distance: km 5
Time advised: 75 minutes to go up, 45 minutes to go down
Difficulty: easy
Explore the wet route of the Black Crab on foot or on the saddle of a mountain bike, starting from the museum of Castelplanio and going downhill along Caciampa Street until the ditch.
You can also leave your car in the square in front of the Church in Macine-Castelplanio, also called Castelplanio Stazione and follow Via Copparoni until you reach the entrance of the route.
The path is flat at first, but after 2 km it climbs up to Castelplanio and ends near the Town Hall Square (Palazzo Mancini).
Along the route, you can admire the river-wood located in the border area between Castelplanio and Rosora.
The vegetation boasts rare tree species such as the white alder, the narcissus and the wild orchid and you can also find butterbur and pennywort.
Fonte del Coppo, dating back to the XVIII century, is the first water supply in Castelpanio and the quality of the ditch’s waters have been better since 1995.
This small river with waterfalls and small lakes is the ideal spot to enjoy a strict contact with a natural world of profound beauty. Be careful: avoid it after rain!
Castelli del Verdicchio - cookie policy - credits
Tel. +39 0731778710
Fax. +39 0731778750
Via Nazario Sauro, 1
60034 Cupramontana (AN)
 |