The Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta
The highest area of the town of Otricoli, its main square, is home to the remarkable Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta, an important example of 7th-century pre-Romanesque architecture. The current structure is the result of several alterations and renovations carried out over the centuries.
A composite yet highly evocative complex
The present façade and bell tower, in Neoclassical style, were built in the first half of the 19th century. At the base of the bell tower is a finely carved Medusa Head, discovered during the excavations at the ancient site of Ocriculum. The façade opens onto a portico that preserves stone materials documenting the different construction phases of the building.
The interior has a rectangular plan with three naves and a single apse. The central entrance portal is surmounted by a fine organ and a Renaissance-era gallery. Belonging to the original structure are the remains of the arcaded colonnade and the elevations of the central nave and counter-façade, built in opus mixtum, with bands of opus reticulatum and extensive reuse of Roman materials. On either side of the portal stand two interesting stoups resting on drums of ancient columns.
The central nave, older than the others, preserves numerous 15th-century frescoes.