Santa Maria Delle Grazie, Pistoia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Santa Maria delle Grazie, also known as Madonna del Letto (of the cot), is a
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
-style, Roman Catholic church located near the city center 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 north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...
, region of
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, Italy.


History

According to tradition, in 1336, a young girl convalescing at the then Hospital of San Donnino was cured of her illness by a vision of the Virgin Mary. The room of that hospital became an oratory at this site, and in the 15th-century, this church was erected, conserving the bed (letto) in which the miracle occurred in one of the chapels. The bed is still kept in a chapel of the church. The construction lasted until 1484, with the intervention at the time of completion by Ventura Vittoni. In 1526, an adjacent Augustinian monastery was established, under the supervision of the cathedral and the Operai di San Jacopo. The church was consecrated in 1535. After the suppression in the late 18th century, the church was assigned to what was then the adjacent Hospital del Ceppo. It subsequently became a parish church. The interior decoration with bands of decorative strips, airy nave with free-standing columns, and apse dome recalls the work of
Michelozzo Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi (; – 7 October 1472), known mononymously as Michelozzo, was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici ...
. The stone facade has a large round oculus and a portal flanked by elegant pilasters. The tympanum above the portal contains a bas-relief of two checkered-caped bears (symbols of Pistoia) holding the reiterated checkered coat of arms of Pistoia. An inventory from 1821 recalls the following works: Guida di Pistoia per'gli amanti delle Belle Arti
by Francesco Tolomei, Pistoia (1821): pages 80-81. *''Martyrdom of Saint Catherine'' by Giovanni Battista Naldini for the Rospigliosi altar *''Virgin of the Annunciation'' by Sebastiano Veronese for the dal Gallo altar *''Virgin of the Assumption'' by Antonio Circignani dalle Pomarance *''Madonna and Child'', a 14th Century fresco painted to recall the miracle, and place on main altar *''Coronation of the Virgin'' by
Benedetto Orsi Benedetto Orsi (died 1680) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Biography Orsi was born in Pescia in Tuscany. He was a pupil of Baldassare Franceschini Baldassare Franceschini, called Il Volterrano after his birth place Volterra and ...
in one of the lunnettes *''Enthroned Madonna and Saints'' by
Lorenzo di Credi Lorenzo di Credi (1456/59 – January 12, 1537) was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor best known for his paintings of religious subjects, and portraits. With some excursions to nearby cities, his whole life was spent in Florence. ...
*''Massacre of the Innocents'' by Francesco Marchesini *''Virgin and other Saints'' by Bastiano Veronese for the Forteguerri altar *Marble busts of Pietro Forteguerri and his brother, the Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri by Santi Brunetti *''Virgin of the Assumption'' by Alessandro Fei for the Altar Sozzifanti


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Grazie Pistoia 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Pistoia