San Michele e San Francesco is a renaissance-style, Roman Catholic parish church located in the Piazza SS Francesco e Michele in the town of Carmignano, province of Prato, region of Tuscany, Italy. It is best known for housing the Jacopo Pontormo altarpiece of the ''

Visitation Visitation may refer to: Law * Visitation (law) or contact, the right of a non-custodial parent to visit with their children * Prison visitation rights, the rules and conditions under which prisoners may have visitors Music * ''Visitation'' (D ...

''.

History

The ''pieve'' church was putatively established after a visit to the town in 1211 by St

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

. Under the patronage of Bernardo da Quintavalle a small convent and oratory were built. The present church, with a single nave typical of Franciscan churches, was built in 1330, with refurbishments over the centuries. The convent was suppressed in 1798. During World War II, the church was damaged, and reconstruction aimed to restore it to its medieval layout. This joined the church to the Oratory of St Sebastian on the left and the cloister on the right. The portal has a memorial to Giovanni Parenti of Carmignano, general of the Franciscans. The interiors has six lateral altars. The first on the right has a canvas depicting the ''Madonna del Carmine and Saints'', attributed to

Giovanni Battista Naldini Giovanni Battista Naldini (1535–1591) was an Italian painter in a late-Mannerist style, active in Florence and Rome. Biography His first apprenticeship (1549–1557) was in the studio of Jacopo Pontormo. He went from Rome for a number of mon ...

. The second altar on the right houses the ''Visitation'' by Pontormo painted for ''I Pinadori''. The third altar houses an altarpiece depicting ''St Francis receives the Stigmata'' (1635) also attributed to Naldini. The church has an organ (1818) by Giosuè Agati. The presbytery houses a number of modern works and a large 16th-century chapel. The main altar has a processional wood statue of the Virgin. The main chapel has a large wooden crucifix (1731). The church windows were remade after the war. There are remnants of a fresco depicting the ''Martyrdom of St Catherine'' and ''Murder of St Peter Martyr'' (early 15th century) attributed to

Antonio di Miniato di Piero Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

and his brother (or father) Pietro. The baptistry has a fresco depicting the ''Baptism of Christ'' (19th century) by

Luigi Catani Luigi Catani (7 November 1762 – 17 December 1840) is an Italians, Italian painter of frescoes during the Neoclassicism, neoclassical period, active in Tuscany. Biography He was born in Prato and died in Florence. He was a pupil of Pietro Benve ...

On left wall is a canvas depicting the ''Madonna and Child with Sts Dominic, Pius V, Catherine of Siena, and Catherine of Alexandria celebrate the mystery of the Rosary'' (1601) by Cosimo Lotti. It is followed by an altar depicting ''St John the Evangelist, Francis, Macario and Andrew'' from the 17th century, with an Annunciation of the school of

Lorenzo Monaco Lorenzo Monaco (1370 – 1425) was an Italian painter of the late Gothic to early Renaissance age. He was born Piero di Giovanni in Siena, Italy. Little is known about his youth, apart from the fact that he was apprenticed in Florence. He was inf ...

. The last altar on the left from 1642 has an ''Adoration of the Shepherds and St Anthony Abbot'' by Naldini. The adjacent choir with a well from 1622 has a number of wall burials dating from 15th to 18th centuries. The Oratory of the Compagnia del SS. Sacramento and San Luca probably reflect the original chapel at the site, and was the home in 1348 of a company of Disciplinati (

flagellants Flagellants are practitioners of a form of mortification of the flesh by whipping their skin with various instruments of penance. Many Christian confraternities of penitents have flagellants, who beat themselves, both in the privacy of their dwe ...

). The Oratory was refurbished in 1776–1778 and redecorated in the 19th century. The oratory has a canvas depicting the ''Purification of Mary'' by

Pier Antonio Michi Seaside pleasure pier in England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out ...

. There is also a canvas depicting the ''Madonna in Glory with Saints Jerome and John the Evangelist'' attributed to either Sagrestani or Gabbiani.Commune of Carmignano, church entry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Michele and Francesco Carmignano 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Renaissance architecture in Tuscany Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany Churches in the province of Prato Carmignano