Santa Maria delle Carceri Prato

According to tradition on 6/7/1484 a child, looking through the bars of the jail, saw an image of Madonna and Child painted on the wall of the jail animate itself.It was decided to build a basilica on the site to celebrate this miracle. Lorenzo de Medici a deeply religious man, commissioned construction following a design by his favourite architect Guiliano da Sangallo. This church is considered one of the earliest and most notable examples of the use of the Greek Cross Plan in Renaissance architecture. The church was begun in 1485, at a time when Tuscan architects were developing the principles laid down by Brunelleschi. This church incorporates the Early Renaissance ideals of lightness and purity. It has four equal sized arms surmounted by a small cupola of Brunelleschi's inspiration of a drum with 12 circular windows and a conical covering surmounted by a lantern. The external covering of the church is bichrome using white and green marble. Internally the four arms are decorated by four stained glass windows. These were designed by Domenico Ghirlando (1491) and represent The Annunciation; the Nativity; The Assumption and The Visitation. The altar piece is a fresco of the miracle portraying the Madonna with Child between Saints Leonard and Staphen. Under the sacristy are some rooms of the ancient jail. There are other art works including a 16th century balustrade by Buontalenti with a aedicula in white marble, designed by Sangallo inspired by those of the pantheon. In ancient Roman religion an aedicula is the diminutive of the Latin aides meaning a temple building or house. The photo demonstrates the unfinished section of the upper wall due to the death of Lorenzo de Medici in 1492, which was therefore left incomplete since 1506.