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Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In Ciciliano's historic center, the parish church brings together religious history, civic memory and local artistic heritage.
A community landmark
A Catholic parish church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, it belongs to the Diocese of Tivoli and preserves a significant part of the village's religious, civic and artistic memory.
- Cost
- No admission fee
- Opening
- Open during daytime
OriginXI-XII century
ReconstructionFrom 1795
Consecration1867
Restoration1951-1999
From Benedictine origins to the new parish church
As early as 1052 Ciciliano was listed among the properties of the Abbey of Santa Scolastica in Subiaco. The first parish church was San Erasmo, a baronial church founded by the Benedictines and deconsecrated in 1605. From 1795 the community began rebuilding the new church, larger and placed in a more advanced and elevated position than the former Santa Maria; the works were probably completed in 1818 and in 1867 Pope Pius IX consecrated it.
Facade, bell tower and naves
The neoclassical facade, facing east and partly hidden by the bulk of the Theodoli granary, is divided into two registers with a main portal, pediment and dedication to Mary Assumed into Heaven. The bell tower has a square base and a belfry with single-light openings. Inside, three naves are marked by square pillars, round arches, Ionic pilasters and barrel vaults; the raised presbytery closes the hall toward the apse.
Works and historic furnishings
The altarpiece of the Assumption of the Virgin with donor is a large late-sixteenth-century oil on canvas attributed to Giovanni Battista Ricci, known as il Novara. The interior frescoes, made in 1867 and repainted in 1951 by Igino Cupelloni, were restored again in the 1990s. Notable furnishings include the sixteenth-century pink marble baptismal font and holy-water stoup, a seventeenth-century altar frontal and the organ by Inzoli Cav. Pacifico e Figli, moved to Ciciliano in 1940 from Sant'Agnese in Agone in Rome.
Visiting the parish church
Access is through the main entrance at Corso Umberto I, 8. There is no admission fee and the church is open during daytime. For religious service times, it is advisable to contact the parish directly.