The Collegiata di San Michele Arcangelo is

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on Via San Giuseppe #1, at one end of the Piazza del Tribunale, in the town of

Lucignano Lucignano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southwest of Arezzo. Lucignano borders the following municipalities: Foiano della Chiana, Marcian ...

Province of Arezzo The province of Arezzo ( it, provincia di Arezzo) is the easternmost province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Arezzo. The province is bordered by the regions of Marche, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, and the provinces ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy.

History

This

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a ...

was designed by

Orazio Porta Orazio Porta (born 1540) was an Italian painter active in the mannerist period. He was active from at least 1568 to 1580s. Biography He was a native of Monte San Savino, and is described as painting in a manner highly influenced or tutored by Gio ...

, and built at the site of an ancient castle destroyed during the Florentine-Sienese conflict of 1556. Attached to the castle had been an oratory dedicated to '' St Michael Archangel''. The ruins of the fortress were used to construct this church. The scenographic,

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

travertine marble Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

stairs, with convex followed by concave levels were designed in 1712 by the Jesuit architect and painter

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

. Only the lower half of the facade was partially complete with brick. Nearly all the stone except for the portal (1715), in

pietra serena Pietra serena is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone. The material obtained at Fiesole is considered the best and is also quarried at Arezzo, Cortona, and Volt ...

, remains rough. The interior houses main altar dedicated to ''Saints Peter and Paul'' by Andrea Pozzo. It holds two altarpieces: a ''Visitation'' (1631) by

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first app ...

and a ''Glory of St Joseph'' (1668-1670) by

Onorio Marinari Onorio Marinari (1627 – January 5, 1715) was an Italian painter and printmaker of the Baroque period, active mainly in Florence. His father, Sigismondo di Pietro Marinari, was also a painter, and he trained with his cousin, Carlo Dolci, later be ...

. Other works include a ''St Carlo Borromeo visits those afflicted with plague'' (1661) and a ''Martyrdom of St Lucy'' (1665) by

Giacinto Gimignani Giacinto Gimignani (1606 – December 9, 1681) was an Italian painter, active mainly in Rome, during the Baroque period. He was also an engraver in aquaforte. Biography Gimignani was born in Pistoia, where his father, Alessio (1567–1651) was ...

; a ''Martyrdom of St Lawrence'' (1650) by

Carpoforo Tencalla Carpoforo Tencalla (or Tencala) (10 September 1623 - 9 March 1685) was an influential Swiss-Italian Baroque painter of canvases and frescoes. He is little studied and has come only recently to the attention of art critics and historians. He intro ...

(1650); a ''Last Supper'' (1615) attributed to

Rutilio Manetti Rutilio di Lorenzo Manetti (c. 1571 – 22 July 1639) was an Italian painter of late-Mannerism or proto-Baroque, active mainly in Siena. Biography He was influenced and/or taught by the local artists Francesco Vanni and Ventura Salimbeni. He is k ...

; and an ''Adoration of the Magi'' (1812) by

Luigi Ademollo Luigi Ademollo (April 30, 1764 – February 11, 1849) was an Italian painter. Biography He was born in Milan. He studied at the Brera Academy, where he was taught by Giulio Traballesi, Giocondo Albertolli, and Giuseppe Piermarini. He left Milan i ...

. The ''Chapel of the Holy Sacrament'' has a putatively miraculous 14th-century crucifix, once found in the church of Santa Margherita. This chapel was refurbished by Luigi Ademollo.Visit Lucignano
Comune tourism office.

References

{{Coord, 43.2741845, 11.7456716, format=dms, type:landmark, display=title Churches in Lucignano Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany Renaissance architecture in Tuscany Baroque architecture in Tuscany 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy