The patron saint of Civitanova Marche is Saint Maro the Martyr, celebrated on 18 August: his remains have been present since the 2nd century on the San Marone hill, where the population returned to live closer to the coast after a period of crisis. The sanctuary of San Marone Martire, originally Romanesque, was built precisely on the site of his martyrdom, he being the first martyr of Piceno: the church, today with a central nave and two side aisles, preserves architectural remains of the ancient complex and a late 19th-century lunette by Sigismondo Nardi, depicting the Virgin and Child between Saint Maro and Saint Domitilla.
Inside stands a 1423 baptismal font, traditionally linked to the patron saint, along with a Nativity of Mary by the painter Andrea Briotti from 1561 and a Crucifixion by Durante Nobili da Caldarola. In the same sanctuary, on 13 May 1823, Sante Possenti, governor of the Papal States, married Agnese Frisciotti of Civitanova, parents of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, co-patron of the town together with Saint Maro. The patron town is also recalled in connection with a Marian apparition, whose 600th anniversary was celebrated on 5 June 2011.
