Ex Chiesa e Convento di Sant’Agostino
The ancient gateways to the historic centre of Jesi bear witness to centuries of history and city life:
monumental gateways that still welcome visitors to the town today
Set in Piazza Colocci, the complex of the former Church and Convent of Sant’Agostino, initially named after San Luca, was built in 1100 by the Benedictines.
In the 15th century the Augustinians settled there and completed extensive renovations.
The Colocci family, residing in the adjoining building, and in particular the humanist Angelo Colocci, transformed it into a noble church, adorning it with sculptures, sepulchral monuments and paintings by the region’s leading artists of the time.
The current facade of the church dates back to the first decades of the 17th century, while the interior was extensively transformed in 1830 by the municipal engineer Giovanni Grilli.
In 1861 the friars were driven out and the church was deconsecrated and used for the most varied and demeaning purposes (barracks, silk cocoon store, hardware shop, dance hall and showroom), while the cloister was adapted to house small goldsmiths’ workshops.
The church’s works of art were lost, partly sold and partly destroyed. Today, a public passageway connects Piazza Colocci to Piazza Spontini on which the remains of the cloister can be seen.
