Along the contrada leading to the Aso River valley stands the former Church of Santa Sofia, now used as a theater. The church was built in the late 15th century on land belonging to the Canons Regular of the Lateran and, according to tradition, was erected in memory of St. Sofia Amati, a local girl brutally murdered in uncertain times. The building’s architecture expresses the simplicity of the Romanesque style, emphasized by an austere façade that once culminated in a triangular pediment. Until 1768, the altar housed a statue of Santa Sofia, which was later removed by the Archbishop of Fermo during the Holy Visitation and replaced by a 17th-century Venetian school canvas depicting the saint. A fresco from the late 15th century stands out on the back wall, showing, on the left, the Madonna and Child flanked by St. Lawrence and St. Nicholas, and on the right St. Sophia, St. Roch and St. Dominic. At the top the figure of the risen Christ stands out, while on the right is a detail showing a dog appears intent on licking the wounds of a plague victim. In 1892, the church was suspended from liturgical services due to the building’s deterioration; it was not until 2005 that the former church was brought back to life as a small theater with about sixty seats. A round arch separates the area once reserved for worshippers from the presbytery, now raised on three steps and used as a stage.
