Your tour to discover the sacred art of the Teramo province can begin in Sant’Omero, where we suggest you visit three churches of historical and artistic importance.

The Church of the Santissima Annunziata, whose façade, dating back to 1754, is simple and influenced by the Baroque style, preserves a wooden Crucifix dating from the late 16th century, an 18th-century majolica statue of Saint Anthony Abbot and a Baroque organ and wooden choir among its sacred furnishings.

Just outside the village is the Church of Santa Maria a Vico. What is so special about it? It is the only monument in the region, preserved almost entirely, previous the Year 1000. Its façade was built using a very rare technique used in Roman times, ‘ad opus spicatum’, i.e., bricks placed in a cut according to the arrangement of a fishbone or a spike of wheat.

Finally, on the top of a hill, we invite you to reach the rural Church of Sant’Angelo Abbamano, perched with its simple Romanesque structure on massive Roman buildings, perhaps the remains of a public bath or a cistern, since a spring of sulphurous waters, now dried up, probably flowed nearby.

Leaving Sant’Omero, we recommend a short visit to Notaresco and its Abbey of San Clemente al Vomano, a place full of charm and beauty expressed in the rich portal of its façade and its bell gable tower.

Recently restored, according to tradition it was founded in the 9th century at the behest of Ermengarda, daughter of Emperor Ludovico II, and preserves one of the oldest and most monumental ciboria in Abruzzo, made between 1136 and 1147.

Among the narrow streets of Morro D’Oro, the third stop on this tour of sacred art, you will find the large Church of San Salvatore and San Nicola, with a rectangular floor plan of about 20 metres by 40, divided into three naves each with five bays.

Continuing on the walk, here is, in its simple splendour, the Abbey of Santa Maria di Propezzano, which opens out into a large square surrounded by olive groves and vineyards.

According to tradition it was erected following an apparition of the Virgin Mary, on 10 May 715, but the one you are admiring dates back to about 1285 and has the typical Romanesque structure and layout of Benedictine monasteries, perfectly preserved in its original form. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Abbey was an important landmark along the Adriatic route to the Holy Land.

In a special position, on a hill that looks out from afar, stands the former Convent of Sant’Antonio Abate, now a private property. A Franciscan settlement of Friars Minor since 1260, over the centuries it has suffered the shame of neglect, which was first remedied by the Rozzi family in the mid-19th century. Major restoration work was begun at the end of the last century at the behest of the Cerulli family and carried out with care and wisdom by the Marziani family, who still own it today.

To conclude this itinerary, we suggest you reach Mosciano Sant’Angelo and let yourself be pampered by the beauty it holds.

Visit the Convent of the Seven Holy Brothers, dating back to the 9th century, with the adjacent Sanctuary of Santa Maria degli Angeli, featuring a fine 17th-century wooden ceiling, special frescoes on the lunettes of the cloister and some 17th-century wooden statues.

Continue your discovery of religious monuments with the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, built between 1828 and 1841: admire its fine stucco work by sculptor Domenico Farnese from Ascoli and paintings by Berardino dei Conti Delfico and Gennaro della Monica.

The Church of the Holy Rosary is of particular architectural importance: its construction was authorised in 1852 by Frederick II, King of the Two Sicilies. The structure has a circular layout, made entirely of bricks, with a dome, designed by architect Giuseppe Lupi, who was inspired by the Roman Pantheon. An authentic jewel that deserves your visit.