The church of Sant'Antonio di Padova is one of the main churches of San Benedetto del Tronto, in the most populous district of the town. The first stone was laid on 10 December 1939, and the church was opened and consecrated on 21 March 1953 by Bishop Vincenzo Radicioni; born as a modest subsidiary church, in 1957 it became a parish, with the Franciscan Giuseppe Di Mattia as its first parish priest, and today it is one of the most important parish complexes in the area.
What to see
The architecture reinterprets in a modern way the «hall» plan of the medieval churches of the mendicant orders. A travertine stairway climbs to the small forecourt and the wooden portal, framed in the same stone; above the portal is a polychrome mosaic of Saint Anthony preaching to the fish. On the left side rises the slender bell tower, and facing the forecourt, across the road, is the friary of the Friars Minor.
The parish also looks after other sacred places in the district: the chapel of the Immaculate on the north seafront, an eco-built structure that residents and visitors call the «little wooden church»; a shrine of Saint Anthony in the Giovanni Paolo II park; and the Monte della Croce, on the first heights behind the town, once called Monte Sereno, with a large cross on top that is a goal of processions.
Visiting
Service and opening times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
In June, for the feast of Saint Anthony, the celebrations and popular events take place in the Giovanni Paolo II park: it is the district's main festival.
