Santa Maria delle Grazie, also known as Madonna del Letto (of the cot), is a

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 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 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.

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 (1396 – 7 October 1472) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Considered one of the great pioneers of architecture during the Renaissance, Michelozzo was a favored Medici architect who was extensively empl ...

. 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 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 ...

for the Rospigliosi altar *''Virgin of the Annunciation'' by Sebastiano Veronese for the dal Gallo altar *''Virgin of the Assumption'' by

Antonio Circignani Antonio Circignani (1560–1620) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance ( Mannerism) period and early Baroque. Born in Pomarance, he is known also as Antonio ''Pomarancio''. He was the son of the painter Niccolò Circignani, and with his ...

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. He is most famous for having worked in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio at the same time a ...

*''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