San Leonardo is a romanesque-style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

rural parish church located on Via della Chiesa #19/a, just outside of the former castle overlooking in the neighborhood of Artimino of town of Carmignano, province of

Prato Prato ( ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') in Tuscany, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Prato. The city lies in the northeast of Tuscany, at an elevation of , at the foot of Monte Retaia (the last peak in the Calvana ch ...

, 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

The ''pieve'' church is near the ''Villa Medicea La Ferdinanda''. The church is cited in documents from 998 by Emperor Ottone III. The church was expanded in the 12th century, under the patronage of Countess

Matilde di Canossa Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was one ...

. In the 14th century, gothic tracery was added to the interior. The bell-tower may derive from one of the watch-towers of the castle. In the 1960s, efforts were made to restore the church to its original romanesque decoration. The walls still contain Etruscan tomb

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

, with some now moved to the local archeologic museum. The belltower was modified in 16th and 17th centuries. The interior houses a wooden polychrome crucifix (1560) and a ''Madonna del Pozzo'', copy of

Franciabigio Franciabigio (1482 – 24 January 1525) was an Italian painter of the Florentine Renaissance. His true name may have been Francesco di Cristofano; he is also referred to as either Marcantonio Franciabigio or Francia Bigio. Life and career He was ...

's work. It contains a 15th-century wooden statue of St Anthony Abbot, attributed to Agnolo di Polo and a statue of San Leonardo attributed to Domenico di Niccolò “dei Cori”. It has a terracotta in the Della Robbia style depicting the ''Visitation''.Comune of Carmignano
entry on church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonardo Carmignano 10th-century churches in Italy Romanesque architecture in Carmignano Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany Churches in Carmignano