Santa Maria delle Grazie is a church in

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 ...

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 ...

, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is located on the site of an ancient sanctuary with a spring that, in the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

era, it was consecrated to

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

. In the Middle Ages it was known as ''Fonte Tecta''. In 1425,

Saint Bernardino of Siena Bernardino of Siena, OFM (Bernardine or Bernadine; 8 September 138020 May 1444), was an Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of scholastic economics. His preaching, his book burnings, and ...

tried in vain to have it destroyed. Ousted from the city, he returned in 1428 and, this time, he was able to obtain the replacement of the spring with an oratory. Here, from 1428 and 1431, Parri di Spinello, son of

Spinello Aretino Spinello Aretino (c. 1350 – c. 1410) was an Italian Painting, painter from Arezzo, who was active in Tuscany at the end of the 14th and the first decade of the 15th century.Andrea Della Robbia Andrea della Robbia (20 October 14354 August 1525) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, especially in ceramics. Biography Born in Florence, Robbia was the son of Marco della Robbia, whose brother, Luca della Robbia, popularized the use of g ...

(1487–1493). The altar portrays, in the tympanum, a Madonna with Child between two Angels; in the niches are the saints Laurentinus, Pergentinus, Donatus and Bernardino, while the paliotto has a ''

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

''. Around 1490, the oratory received a portico, designed by

Benedetto da Maiano Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – 24 May 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor. Biography Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as a companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When ...

. The structure was inspired by

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo di ser Brunellesco di Lippo Lapi (1377 – 15 April 1446), commonly known as Filippo Brunelleschi ( ; ) and also nicknamed Pippo by Leon Battista Alberti, was an Italian architect, designer, goldsmith and sculptor. He is considered to ...

Ospedale degli Innocenti The (; 'Hospital of the Innocents'), also known in old Tuscan dialect as the , is a historic building in Florence, Italy. It was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in 1419 from the Arte della Seta. It was originally a ...

. On the longest side it has seven arcades with medallions, on a basement with steps. The church itself was built from 1435 to 1444, a late

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

edifice designed by Domenico del Fattore, with a single nave with

cross-vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

s and a short apse. It houses a fresco (c. 1477–1481) with ''Pope

Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV (or Xystus IV, ; born Francesco della Rovere; (21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 until his death in 1484. His accomplishments as pope included ...

Enthroned between cardinals Gonzaga and Piccolomini''. At the right side, a chapel dedicated to Saint Bernardino was built after his death in 1444.

External links

official website

Article at Arezzo 2000 website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria delle Grazie Arezzo Maria delle Grazie Gothic architecture in Tuscany Buildings and structures completed in 1444 Churches completed in the 1440s 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy