Castignano is perched on a hill on the border between the Tronto river and the river Tesino. The surrounding landscape is picturesque, characterized by erosion of the barren land, the province itself is supported by a large imposing wall that, for centuries, has tried to slow down the erosion. The erosion leads to the characteristic charm of Castignano as well as its wildly intriguing dangerousness.
The name, Castignano, is most likely derived from the fact that the village was to be surrounded by a forest of chestnuts (from the Latin Castanetumas well as a chestnut tree being present in the coat of arms. Castignano boasts of lending to history and archeology enthusiasts, the oldest inscribed document relating to Picene: The Tablet of Castignano; a stone tablet of about one meter high made of sandstone and dated around the 7th– 6th century BC, which includes an inscription in bustrophedic (where every other line of writing is flipped or reversed, with reversed letters) concerning the sanctity of territorial limits specified in the memorial itself.
Today The Tablet of Castignano is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Ascoli Piceno. The historic center has kept the characteristics of the medieval village intact, with the careful restoration of present houses which gives visitors the feeling of moving between the walls of the past, rich in history and traditions.
In the highest part of the village, crossing the brick courtyard, you will find the church of St. Peter and Paul. With its characteristic rose window of travertine with a human figure in its center and the great arched doorway of terracotta which bears the arms of Castignano. Inside, the church you will find two aisles with a trussed roof and wooden altars in the baroque style.
The Diocesan Community Museum of Sacred Art, housed in the sacristy, is a location to admire one of the most valuable works in the province: the “Reliquary – Monstrance of the Holy Cross “chiseled in gilded silver for the late Gothic period and commissioned in 1488 by the Conventual Fathers goldsmith Peter Ascoli Vannini. The central part consists of a small temple with six spiral columns and a cross which holds relics inside (fragments of wood of the column on which Jesus Christ was flogged). This was donated by Pope Nicholas IV in 1288.
On the right wall of the Church is a fresco painted in the 15th century of the “Last Judgment” with a description of life in the Hereafter, which descriptive complexity is still under investigation.
A crypt, possibly dating to the Farfa period, lies within the Church and the walls bear traces of frescoes attributed to Vincenzo Pagani.
The church of Santa Maria al Borgo is also known as the Knights Templar due to signs and evidence which points to the presence of the knights in the village of Castignano. Some of the most obvious signs are in the characteristic structure which prevails in the churches of the Knights Templar. The facade of the church, which runs along Via Margherita, is styled with two doors and two single narrow arched windows; the entrance door is framed in brick and decorated with the Tau Cross, a typical Knights Templar symbol. The discovery of frescoes inside the church and their dating supports the idea that an older church existed before the arrival of the Benedictine monks, and that the tradition was built by the Knights Templar.
The church of Sant’Egidio has several works of interest. “Our Lady of the Rosary” by Simone De Magistris, is oil on canvas painted in the last years of his career, from the late 16th and early 17th century. Inside, the majestic entry of decorated walls and a vaulted ceiling has recently restored. Preserved among other works is the painting of the “Madonna of the Rosary” by Sebastiano Conca (1679-1764), the ‘”Annunciation”, a masterpiece by Giuseppe Ghezzi (1634-1721) and the “Crucifixion”, by Pier Francesco Mola (1612-1721).
Housed in “Mostra delle Arti e Tradizioni popolari”, there is one of 799 (limited edition) copies numbered and certified by the Prefect of the Vatican Secret Archiveè.
After years of study and preparation, the Vatican Secret Archive, for the first time, publishes faithful copies of the integral acts of the Templar trial (June 28 – August 20, 1308), accompanied by the unprecedented and extraordinary critical edition transcription. The ancient parchments representing the surviving acts of the pontifical inquiry, the rough draft with the autographed notes of Pope Clement V and the parchment of Chinon, all investigated anew, show how the same pontiff intended to save the existence of the Templar order by giving it a new role after reforming its customs and discipline. An important historical-artistic initiative that allows to open our knowledge of history by revealing events that have so far remained in the shade.
Volume in size 29 x 45, made according to the canons of art publishing, contains rare illustrations and three engravings by Domenico Marchetti from 1840. Texts printed on cotton paper, watermarked, specially manufactured; the elegant binding in whole goat’s parchment tanned according to ancient techniques has the writing in pure gold on the front plate and on the back.
Scrolls from the Archivum Arcis, Armarium D208-209-210-217. In about 6 meters of parchment, the documents of the trial, the interrogations and the confessions of the ‘warrior friars’. From the Archivum Arcis, Armarium 217, the Chinon document opens new perspectives on the discussed Templar Process. The private dossier of Pope Clement V from the Avignon register 48.
Mostra delle Arti e Tradizioni popolari- Stabilimento bacologico “Scaramucci”
Nell’antichissimo edificio che alla fine dell’Ottocento, e fino alla prima metà del Novecento, era utilizzato per l’Industria del “Seme-bachi” il 20 ottobre del 2012 è stata insediata la MOSTRA DELLE ARTI E TRADIZIONI POPOLARI CASTIGNANESI.
Uno stabilimento in cui venivano confezionati e distribuiti i semi-bachi sani che venivano distribuiti sul territorio Piceno per far sviluppare l’industria bacologica che, partendo da un’attività strettamente agricola, quella della coltivazione dei gelsi (alimento per i bachi) produzione dei bossoli dai quali poi l’ingegno dell’industria, ricavava preziosi “fili di seta”,
Grazie alla disponibilità di alcuni concittadini, nella Mostra sono stati raccolti oggetti, suppellettili ed attrezzi utilizzati dai castignanesi dal 1870 fino agli anni ‘50, nello svolgimento quotidiano delle attività produttive e di trasformazione, ma anche di quelle familiari; una raccolta che è la memoria storica di questo periodo e racconta la forza, la vivacità di un popolo che, partendo da una tradizione prettamente agricola, ha saputo vedere con lungimiranza e modernità l’importanza della trasformazione dei prodotti della terra.
La Mostra è una “passeggiata nel passato”, ad essa si accede da una scalinata e attraverso un imponente portale in cotto campeggiato da un’antica formella che in maniera stilizzata ricorda una figura femminile. E’ articolata in un percorso che unisce le varie “stanze”, partendo dal piano terra dove c’è una splendida carrozza (appartenente alla famiglia De Scrilli, della prima metà del 1700) passa nel pianerottolo dove un pannello pitturato ed un coppo rotto ricordano la testardaggine del castignanese al quale cadde il “coppo in testa” e per minimizzare l’accaduto disse…. “chi sputa”.
Tra foto che rappresentano la devozione religiosa e gli antichi scenari urbani di Castignano, nei vari livelli sono dislocati i tini, le botti ed altre attrezzature da cantina; al piano primo tra forme, vecchi scarponi, punzoni e trincetti con il desco, ancora sporco di colla, è rappresentato l’angolo del calzolaio. 
Un’accortezza particolare si è avuta per ricordare l’attività della bachicoltura con l’incubatrice dove venivano fatti nascere gli insetti, i microscopi per il controllo delle malattie e la selezione ed ed i pannelli in rete con ancora sopra le foglie di gelso ed i bossoli con i filamenti di seta. A questo livello è stata ricostruita una cucina tradizionale con il camino, le fornacelle per cucinare, il tagliere, le pentole appese a vista ed una tavola imbandita. Al secondo piano sono stati ricreati: l’angolo della tessitura, dove campeggia tra filarini vari un telaio in legno ancora funzionante e della sartoria con una delle prime macchine da cucire; lo spazio delle attrezzature agricole con una rarissima pressa da fieno della Cavalleria dell’Esercito Regio ed una mola a pedale con struttura in legno e la mola in pietra arenaria; l’angolo del muratore con le cucchiare, le cassuole e gli strumenti di misura; quello dei falegnami; ma anche quello dei “fochisti” con mortai, polveri, pistelli e regoli per fare grandi, colorati e rinomati fuochi artificiali.
Quella del contadino, del muratore, del calzolaio, del fuochista, del falegname, del tessitore, del sarto e del produttore di seta erano i mestieri che hanno dato, nel periodo storico analizzato, lustro e spazio in Italia ed all’estero ai nostri concittadini; mestieri, ai quali è ancora oggi possibile collegare il nome delle persone e delle famiglie, che ricordano una elevata professionalità ed una capacità di guardare oltre il modesto orizzonte paesano con un insospettabile modernità.
Un esempio che ancora oggi è in grado di indicare la direzione per la valorizzazione e la salvaguardia di un territorio ricco di antiche opportunità che, attraverso una forte integrazione tra ambiente naturale e lavoro, in un continuo processo di corretta trasformazione e conservazione, riescono a restare tali.
Tra gli obiettivi della Mostra, quella di stimolare attività didattiche ed approfondimenti degli antichi mestieri e delle tradizioni paesane evitando che l’oblìo della globalizzazione possa occultarli alle generazioni attuali ed a quelle future.
Feast your eyes on amazing surprises in Castignano by visiting the Museums of Sacred Art and Icons. The beauty and charm here, praised by the Superintendent of Urbino, is sought after by scholars from all over Italy.
The Museum opened in 2009 and it is the result of 40 years of collection by Monsignor Vincenzo Catani, currently a pastor in San Benedetto del Tronto.
The collection was located in the 18th century palace belonged the family De Scrilli until the 1970’s, behind the church of S. Peter, The collection is now owned by the community and granted for use as a Museum, which now extends inside the two floors with its vast rooms built “in flight” (one inside the other) and some ceilings that still bear the original pictures.
The first floor contains a library with about 4,000 printed volumes consisting mainly of works of historical and artistic heritage. The manuscript section contains some rarities, including 53 letters written from the bishop of Montalto Francesco Saverio Castiglioni (1806 to 1816), who later became Pope Pius VIII. There is also a large section of books on the Italian Unification. Inside the library is a small lapidary and an exposed fourteenth-century wooden statue of St. Antonio Abate.
On the second floor is the section of Sacred Art which is divided into the Hall of Silver (including 194 papal medals from the end of 700 a.d. to date, crosses, chalices, ciboria, monstrance, etc.), two picture galleries and the Hall of Wood. Each holds true preciousness to enjoy. In the same section a sacristy was rebuilt at the end of the 18th century with interesting liturgical material.
On the third floor is the section of the Icons, housing 80 precious and rare Byzantine artifacts distributed throughout five rooms. Beginning with the hall of Iconostasis and Gifted Doors (two doors with original wood), we travel through the great hall, where we can see six icons with wooden frames carved and gilded, clearly stand out. These are works of 19th century Russian. The next room contains more religious works of art, especially Marian, a beautiful icon with multiple oval porcelain. The following room shows icons in the art of “rize”. Rize consists of a metallic coating, which generally leaves the essential parts of the icon uncovered, treated with highly refined artistic technique, in which there are goldsmith techniques are complemented by polychrome enamels, watermarks, settings of pearls or semiprecious stones. The final room is holds icons that relate to the saints (Nicholas, George, Elijah, etc.). This room contains a very interesting icon depicting four saints, treated in silver rize, and two icons “Menologiche”, divided by monthly calendars, depicting Saints of every day.
In this small brochure presentation Museums castignanese reads: “A surprise that you do not expect.” How many of those who have visited have confirmed the statement. It is indeed a very special museum, in the enchantment of a preserved historic center of Piceno.
