San Leone, once called the oratory or church of Santo Spirito, is a small

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 ...

-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 adjacent to the Vivarelli Colonna (now provincial offices) in

Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, 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 Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In 2017, restoration of the Baroque era frescoes in the apse and ceilings were completed.

History

The site by the 13th century housed an oratory of the prominent Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Santo Spirito). That congregation and the oratory were patronized by the wealthy aristocratic Cancellieri Bianchi family, who owned the adjacent Palazzo, now serving as provincial office. However, during the early 16th century, this family had joined the anti-Medici party in Tuscany, and with the restoration of the latter family to the rule in the region, the Cancellieri palaces in town, as well as their fortunes, suffered extremely. The adjacent palace was burned down by forces led by the Panciatichi family. The oratory remained property of the Congregation. The oratory was refurbished in the 17th century, adding the portico and laminating the interior with marble and

quadratura Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective ''di sotto in sù'' and ''quadratura'', is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, an ...

. During this time, the interiors were embellished with the altarpieces (1622) depicting: on the right the ''Resurrection'' by

Giovanni Lanfranco Giovanni Lanfranco (26 January 1582 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography Giovanni Gaspare Lanfranco was born in Parma, the third son of Stefano and Cornelia Lanfranchi, and was placed as a page in the ho ...

for the Arfaruoli family and on left the ''Ascension of Christ'' by Stefano Marucelli for the Bronconi family. During 1753–1764, the apse and presbytery dome were decorated initially starting with

Raffaello Ulivi Raffaello, Raffaele or Raffaellino is an Italian given name. It usually refers to Raphael (a.k.a. Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. Raffaello may also refer to: * Raffaello (confection), a conf ...

, but mostly with the efforts of

Vincenzo Meucci Vincenzo Meucci (1694–1766) was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque period. Born in Florence. He was a pupil first of the painter Sebastiano Galeotti, then of Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole in Bologna. He was patronized by the Marchese Giova ...

and Lorenzo del Moro with a large fresco depicting the ''Descent of the Holy Spirit''. Moro contributed to the quadratura and lateral walls. In 1764,

Mauro Tesi Mauro Antonio Tesi (; January 15, 1730 – July 18, 1766), or, as he is sometimes called, after the name given him by his patron and admirer, Francesco Algarotti, "Il Maurino", was an Italian painter of the late- Baroque period, active mainly in ...

completed the nave ceiling frescoes. Between 1710 and 1773, the oratory was detached from the Congregation of Santo Spirito and granted to the bishop's seminary, who changed the dedication to San Leone. In 2017, the church interiors underwent restoration, and the

Luca della Robbia Luca della Robbia (, also , ; 1399/1400–1482) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor from Florence. Della Robbia is noted for his colorful, Tin-glazed pottery, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique which he invented and passed on to his ne ...

terracotta sculpture of the Visitation, originally from

San Giovanni Fuorcivitas San Giovanni Fuoricivitas (also called San Giovanni Evangelista Fuorcivitas or ''Forcivitas'') is a Romanesque religious church and adjacent buildings in Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. The adjective ''fuoricivitas'' (a mix of Italian and Latin m ...

was displayed in the oratory. The church remains property of the Diocese.Fondazione CRPT
news on restoration.

Gallery

Pistoia, san leone, interno 01 (2).jpg, Presbytery frescoes with ''Visitation'' by Della Robbia Giuseppe o lorenzo del moro e mauro tesi, 1753-64, gloria di san pietro 02.jpg,

Trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

nave ceiling frescoes Giovanni Lanfranco, Resurrezione, 1622, 06 (2).jpg, ''Resurrection of Christ'' by Lanfranco Stefano Marucelli, ascensione di cristo 02.jpg, ''Ascension of Christ'' by Marucelli

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone Pistoia 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Pistoia Baroque architecture in Tuscany