The church of the Annunziata in Terracina dates from the first half of the thirteenth century and was the parish of the old Borgo Murato, outside Porta Albina. It stands at the junction of via Annunziata and via Foro Severiano, with a small paved square in front that is the only access from the street; along the side street you can see the remains of the old walls descending with the slope. In 1473 Pope Sixtus IV granted it as a benefice to the priest Nicola Trumbatore; in 1537, entrusted to the Celestines, a monastery was built beside it.
What to see
The most remarkable feature is the lintel of the doorway, on two leafy corbels, decorated with interlaced vine stems coming out of the mouths of two fantastic animals at the ends. An inscription in Gothic letters bears the signature: MAGISTER ANDREAS DE PIPERNO ME FECIT, a sculptor from Priverno known only for this work, probably from the first half of the fourteenth century. On the façade is a small bell gable.
The interior has a single Gothic nave, with the raised presbytery in a shallow square apse, introduced by a large pointed arch and covered by a ribbed cross vault, where traces of thirteenth-century frescoes with painted medallions survive. Two small raised chapels on the left side keep remains of frescoes; the altars were dedicated to Saint Charles Borromeo, Saint Blaise, Saint Crescentius, Saint Roch and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Visiting
The church is no longer used for worship; the timber roof was redone in 1989. Any openings should be checked with the municipality.
Our editors' tip
The bronze bell of the bell gable is kept in Terracina's Museo civico Pio Capponi: it can be seen there.
