Basilica of Santa Margherita is a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

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 ...

church, located just outside the Tuscan town of

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan language, Etr ...

, Italy, at the intersection of Via delle Santucce and Via Sant Margherita, on a hill just below the Fortezza Medicea, and dedicated to a native saint of the town, Margaret of Cortona.

History

The church was originally the site of a small oratory dedicated to San Basilio, and built by

Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona () are a Catholic Church, Catholic monastic order of pontifical right for men founded by Romuald, St. Romuald. Its name is derived from the Holy Hermitage () in Camaldoli, high in the mountains of Tuscany, ...

monks in the 11th century. Damaged during the 1258 siege of the town by

Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...

, the church and adjacent convent were rebuilt in 1288 by efforts led by ''Margherita di Cortona'', herself a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

tertiary, and dedicated to Saints Basil, Egidius, and

Catherine of Alexandria Catherine of Alexandria, also spelled Katherine, was, according to tradition, a Christian saint and Virginity, virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a ...

. In those days it was still merely an oratory, and was only 15 metres in length. It was sited adjacent to a small chapel dedicated to St Basil. Margaret died in 1297 in a room behind the old church where she had lived the last years of her life. This room corresponds roughly to the present site of the 3rd

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

to the left of the nave. She was buried in a wall of the chapel of St Basil. By 1330, the Cortonese had constructed a larger church designed by

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano () was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Mo ...

, in part to house her relics, exhumed in 1456, that had become an object of veneration. The old church now became part of the nave of the newer, 30 metre long, structure. The saint was canonised in 1728. Fragments of a fresco from the church, attributed to

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, he introduced Realism (arts), naturalism into Sienese School, Sienese art. In the ...

, are now conserved in the Diocesan Museum. Other 14th-century frescoes such as ones by Barna da Siena have disappeared. Many of the canvases once in the interior have been dispersed or moved. The church underwent major enlargements and reconstructions in 1738 and in 1874-1878; only the choir and two vaults, the second and third of the central nave, remain from the original church. The present Gothic Revival architecture style church is the work of Enrico Presenti and Mariano Falcini. The facade was designed by Domenico Mirri (1856-1939), and completed by Giuseppe Castellucci. The rich marble mausoleum on the left of the transept by the Sienese workshops and the saint's silver casket (1774) at the main altar, displaying her

incorrupt Incorruptibility is a Catholic and Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. I ...

body, was designed by Pietro Berrettini. The main altarpiece once held a large ''Deposition'' by

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona, in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

, now in the Diocesane museum. The marble statue (1781) of the saint in a niche on the right was sculpted by

Vincenzo Pacetti Vincenzo Pacetti (1746–1820) was an Italian sculptor and restorer from Castel Bolognese, particularly active in collecting and freely restoring and completing classical sculptures such as the Barberini Faun (1799 – now in the Glyptothek, Mun ...

. The second altar on the right has an altarpiece depicting ''Virgin and St Elizabeth of Hungary'', by

Jacopo da Empoli 250px, ''Martyrdom of St. Sebastian'', San Lorenzo, Florence Jacopo da Empoli (30 April 1551 – 30 September 1640) was an Italian Florentine Reformist painter. Born in Florence as Jacopo Chimenti (Empoli being the birthplace of his father), ...

. On an altar on the right there is a 13th-century wooden crucifix, originally from the church of San Francesco, Cortona. It is said St Margaret prayed before this crucifix. On the right side walls there are relics and captured standards donated by the

Knights of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

stationed in Cortona. On the left nave we see a large chapel in memory of those Cortonese fallen during the war, with frescos by

Osvaldo Bignami Osvaldo Bignami (1856 in Lodi – 1936 in Civate (Lecco)) was an Italian painter. Biography Osvaldo Bignami was apprenticed to a decorative artist in Milan, where he moved when he was in his twenties, and later enrolled at the Brera Academy. Fro ...

. The first altar on the left had an altarpiece depicting ''Saints Louis of Toulouse, Francis, Dominic, and Margaret'' by

Francesco Vanni Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena.

. the second altar had a painting depicting the ''Massacre of the Innocents'' by Pietro Giannotti.Della Cella, page 144. The church was elevated to the status of a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

in 1927. Behind the church is the bell-tower (1650) and a monastery of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

References

External links

Sanctuary of Saint Margaret of Cortona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margherita Gothic Revival church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Cortona 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy