The

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Santa Maria Assunta in Filettole in the Italian 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 ...

dates from the eleventh century. It was destroyed in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and rebuilt in 1958.

Location

The church is at Filettole, a village on the outskirts of

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 i ...

. It falls within the diocese of Prato.

History

The parish church has existed since the eleventh century. It was destroyed in Allied aerial bombardments in 1944. The church and bell tower were reconstructed by Sylvester Bardazzi on the basis of photographs taken before the bombing, using materials recovered from the ruins; the building was reopened in 1958.

Technical profile

Original structure

The church was characterized by a single

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

ending in three

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s. The façade was decorated with a pattern of architectural

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s and arches in the roof eaves. The bell tower was coeval with the church and also repeated the decoration of hanging arches. The masonry of the church consisted of coursed rubble of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

Current status

The modern church reproduces the ground plan of the ancient building. The façade, in the limestone cornice, is divided by thin pilasters into five bays, not reproducing the previous ornamental arches in the roof eaves. The central bay contains the neomedieval portal with archivolts, over which is a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...

covered with a sort of porch. The left side - also made of limestone - is marked by four pilasters and pierced with

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed windows. To the rear stands the bell tower (with a concrete structure), pierced by three orders of mullioned windows.

In the church is a marble

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

from the fifteenth century, in hexagonal shape, while in the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

is a fine wooden

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

of the fifteenth century by Fr. Romualdo of Candeli.

References

External links

Photographs of the church
Massimiliano Galardi (

Creative Commons Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has release ...

licence) {{Coord, 43.89, N, 11.13, E, display=title Churches in the province of Prato 12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Romanesque architecture in Tuscany