ORCIANO DI PESARO

Driving through the Marche near Italy’s Adriatic coast, I spotted this little village with two bell towers, one of which turned out to be the church of S. Maria Nuova, built in 1482 for Federico da Montefeltro’s son-in-law (and Pope Julius II’s brother) Giovanni della Rovere, by Baccio Pontelli, a Florentine from the Maiano workshop there, taken to Urbino by Francesco di Giorgio, possibly to supervise the installation of the Studiolo. The church is near the old town gate, a commanding presence among plain village houses, with its three oculi and its imposing portal, one of the finest that I have seen, covered in classical ornament, in crisp carving of a finesse and delicacy that is extraordinary against the otherwise unfinished façade of bare brick.

Inside is the most simple, clear and beautiful structure, strongly outlined in grey stone against whitewash, with circles, symbols of godly perfection, everywhere, and the central dome resting lightly on four stately columns. In the 1560’s the vaults were decorated with mannerist plasterwork, below, by Federico Brandani, adding a jarring, but beautiful, touch of voluptuous extravagance to the chaste interior.