Penne was rebuilt on the ruins of the old Pinna. It is situated on the top of four hills that in Penne’s coat-of-arms are symbolised by four medieval towers. Penne’s buildings, monuments and churches are proof of its long history and make the town artistically interesting. One of the most interesting town gates is the eighteenth century Porta S. Francesco (Gate of S. Francis). In the middle of it there is a niche with the statue of Saint Massimo in the act of blessing who is the patron saint of the town.
Cathedral (Foto Crisante)
The Cathedral was built in the place formerly occupied by a pagan temple. In fact its structure is very old. It dates back to the year 1000. Over the time it has been reconstructed many times. The last reconstruction took place in 1955 after the second world war. It gave the Cathedral the present look with its façade in terracotta tiles and other parts of the former construction, as the ogival portal and the rose window (thirteenth or fourteenth century). On the right side there is a Renaissance portal which dates back to 1574. The interior of the church has a latin cross shape with a nave and two side aisles divided by Gothic arches. The ceiling is made of visible trusses.
In the Cathedral you can see a wooden crucifix (thirteenth-fourteenth century) where Christ’s arms are detached from the cross in the act of embracing; you also find the Bishop Odorisio altar (1182-1190) and the silver bust of Saint Massimo (whom the church is dedicated to) made in 1762. The oldest part of the church is the crypt which dates back to the ninth century and where you can see old stone blocks from Roman times. The crypt is formed by five naves covered by a cross vaulted ceiling. On the pillars you can see the remains of votive paintings that may date back to the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Next to the Cathedral there is the Bishop’s Palace, seat of the Diocesan Museum of sacred art. In the museum there are many objects of sacred art and you can visit the archaeological department with findings from the surrounding region.
You can see objects from the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras (Leopardi collection), and some interesting items of the Roman age found in the region.
S. Augustin Church has a thirteenth-century structure, but it was restored in the eighteenth and twentieth century. The bell tower of the church is a fine one. It has an octagonal cuspidate prism at the top with polychromatic bowls and it is similar to other bell towers in Abruzzo, for example the one in Atri. Inside the church, behimd the choir, there is a big fresco which dates back to the fifteenth century.
Porta San Francesco (Foto D'Angelo)
In the outskirts of the town there is the fine Benedectine church of S. Maria in Colleromano, built between the thirteenth and fourteenth century and restored over the time. You can still see some parts of the original structure like the sumptuous portal which, in the lunette, has a Madonna with child (fourteenth century). The interior of the church has a nave and two side aisles divided by pointed arches. Inside you can see a Baroque high altar made of gilded wood and some fragments of frescoes of the sixteenth and seventeenth century.
In the Cathedral you can see a wooden crucifix (thirteenth-fourteenth century) where Christ’s arms are detached from the cross in the act of embracing; you also find the Bishop Odorisio altar (1182-1190) and the silver bust of Saint Massimo (whom the church is dedicated to) made in 1762.
S. Augustin Church 