Not far from the little parish church of Santa Maria is Sellano’s Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall). The building has a typically characteristic façade of the 1500s, remodeled in the 1800s. The building has two floors separated by a cornice. There are two entrance doors on the ground floor and two small quadrangular windows, whereas the upper floor has five large rectangular windows separated by pilasters and decorated with cornices. In one room on the ground floor you can admire a beautiful fresco from the 16^th century the “Madonna with Child and Saints” and the famous ‘Piatto di Brevicelli’, a piece from the 16^th century made of embossed gilded copper.

The church, in existence since the thirteenth century, was initially dedicated to St. Matthew and only in 1256 was named for St. Francis of Assisi who, according to tradition, frequently attended it. Beginning in 1796 the ancient structure was completely modified according to a project by the architect Andrea Vici. The works, which lasted several years, were supervised by Giovanni Bettini and Vincenzo Vitali. In 1856 the building was reopened to the public but it was still without the facade, which was only built by the civil engineer Giovanni Bertucci in 1886.

The three entrance doors, with architraves and simple frames, are complete with stucco decorations of five pilasters with capitals.

The interior is in  neoclassical style consisting of a single nave on either side of which are four apsidal chapels. The apsidal basin is decorated with frescoes dating back to the eighteenth century, while the sacristy and the chapel of St. Matthew preserve the fragmentary fresco decoration of the fourteenth century.

In the center of the village is the small parish church of Santa Maria, built in the 1200s and almost entirely rebuilt in the 16^th century.

There are some lovely works of art inside worth pointing out: paintings from the 16^th and 17^th centuries, a carved walnut wood pulpit, and a triptych with a gold background from the 15^th century.

The importance of this church is due to the fact that the remains of the Blessed Giolo are kept here in a gold metal urn placed near the altar; the devout hermit lived in the 13^th-14^th century and later became the patron saint of Sellano.

About ten kilometers from the center of Sellano, following an easily walkable path, you will find a small lake called Lago di Vigi, formed in the 1960s after flooding from the mountain stream of the same name. The locals jokingly refer to the lake as Lockness from the name of the restaurant nearby set up in a restored mill. Surrounded by beautiful landscapes with a gurgling brook and holly oaks and oak woods, the restaurant has a particular attraction – the floor is made of glass so the customers can watch the flowing stream below while they eat.

Following another path, not too steep and not too long, you will come to the Cascate del Torrente le Rote waterfalls where the Rote stream feeds into the Vigi river, tumbling down from a height of several meters. Take note that swimming is not recommended as the water is about 8-10° C (42°F); in particularly hot summers the falls could even be dry. The dense vegetation in the area is home to herons and hawks who keep sports fishermen company in the nearby fishing center not far from the restaurant and artificial lake.

According to tradition, Giolo, born in Sellano in the 13^th century, lived a hermit’s life in a grotto on Mount Giove, where a small oratory was built in the 16^th century dedicated to Saint Lorenzo.

Although in a position hard to reach from a narrow, almost impassable path, the grotto today is the frequent destination of devout pilgrims who caress the cliff and take home small stones that they keep in their pockets all year as relics or talismans, only after leaving on site the ones they took the year before. It seems that water seeps through the rock walls from a spring nearby with therapeutic properties.

It is said that the Blessed Giolo carried up to his refuge a piece of burning coal that he was charitably given; he wrapped it in his robe which miraculously did not catch on fire. The people were particularly devoted to him following his death in 1315 and many people from Sellano claimed miracles in his name. The most significant concerned the nebbia miracolosa (miraculous fog), thanks to which a dispute between neighboring castles finally ended over who would be keeper of the saint’s remains. Only the inhabitants of Sellano were allowed to go to where the Blessed Giolo’s body lay; it was moved and kept at the St Lorenzo Church in Ottaggi and then moved to the parish church of S. Maria in Sellano (where the remains are kept today).  It was only in 1780 on specific request of the Sellano inhabitants that the bishop of Spoleto officially granted permission to worship the Blessed Giolo.

At 1020 m above sea level (3060 ft) surrounded by beech trees and splendid forests on the side of Mt Cammoro not far from the villages of Pettino and Orsano, there is a small sanctuary dedicated to St. Paterniano. Tradition holds that the saint, bishop of Fano, stopped over here to live briefly as a hermit on one of his trips to Rome. It seems he appeared often in this area until his request to build a worship site was finally granted.

The small Romanesque style church has a very plain gabled façade; there are two lateral windows and one over the door. A portico covers the entrance and there is a holy stone to the right known as the inginocchiatoio del santo (where the saint kneeled); in fact, the stone is worn smooth and bears the signs of the hermit saint’s knees and staff. Today the devout kneel in the same position for the purpose of praying for a favor and healing of diseases of the bones.

Behind the little chapel is a small ‘cell’ or room that was furnished as a refuge for people of the Church or laymen hermits in the early 1900s.

The entire structure has been restored recently and today it is the destination of numerous devout pilgrims who come every year to pay homage to the saint on the day when he is remembered – July 10^th.

The faithful meet in the lower valley for a Mass then walk to the hermitage in procession. There is a fresh mountain spring nearby named after St Paterniano whose water, according to tradition, has therapeutic properties.