5. From Porta Marina to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and the Church of San Cristoforo

Descending from Piazza Cavour, and passing Piazza IX Luglio, you reach another gate, Porta Marina, which leads to the town's Pieve (Parish Church), the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.

The church holds the tomb of the explorer Giacomo Costantino Beltrami.

The Pieve of Filottrano was rebuilt in 1679 (on the side of the bell tower facing the road, you can see a brick bearing the date) over the small 14th-century Gothic church, which had become too small and dilapidated. The current building features a single nave that widens into an ellipse at the halfway point, giving a sense of grandeur and spaciousness to the interior.

Finely decorated in Baroque style, it presents interesting stucco work and numerous canvases. The main altar hosts an Assumed Madonna in Heaven supported by soft, pure white clouds along with Baby Jesus and Saints Peter, Lucy, and, probably, Catherine of Alexandria. The first altar on the left, however, features a valuable 15th-century fresco, derived from the previous structure, depicting the Madonna breastfeeding the child within an oval. The fresco is contained within a column, hence the work’s name: "Madonna of the Column."

In the sacristy, it is possible to notice other interesting works, including a gruesome Beheading of St. John the Baptist and a delicate and evocative Nativity. At the back of the church are some tombstones of illustrious Filottrano citizens, including the explorer Giacomo Costantino Beltrami, the discoverer of the sources of the Mississippi.

Returning to Piazza Mazzini and reaching Via S. Cristoforo, you arrive at the Church of San Cristoforo, the oldest of the city's churches (dating back to around the year 1000). It preserves precious and elegant frescoes that were recently restored.