The original church was dedicated to Beatae Virginis Mariae de monte Carmelo by a group of Carmelite friars from Pisa, with construction beginning in 1268 thanks in part to a bequest from Cione di Rinieri del Vernaccia. Work progressed slowly because of conflicts with the parish of San Frediano, in whose territory the new Carmine was situated. An agreement of August, 5, 1329 forged by the bishop saw permission to enlarge the church pursuant to the Carmelites ensuring that half of all parish funerals were performed in San Frediano. This first expansion resulted in the loss of some family chapels, and the new church's consecration finally took place in 1422, before its roof had been completed. The complex was expanded again with the addition of a new chapter room and refectory by 1464. The church remained a single-aisle Latin-cross church, which was renovated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries only to be destroyed by fire in 1771 and rebuilt in 1782. The fourteenth-century church was oriented toward the south, but references to liturgical orientations follow the traditional use of the high altar at the east. An eighteenth-century description of the church by a Carmelite friar known only as Fra Anonimo recounts of the nave: "oh ella è pur grande, e vasta!" (oh she is so great and vast!). The friars measured the church to be 51 braccia high, 136 long, and 32 wide, covered with a roof supported by seventeen trusses painted with various colors, including some with inscriptions and coats of arms of the groups or individuals who paid for them. The nave had two doors along its right side leading into the old cloister (chiostro vecchio).
| Affiliations (1 total) |
|
|---|---|
| Database ID | 62 |
| Parish of S. Frediano, Gonfalone Drago Verde Oltrarno, Sestiere Oltrarno | April 30th, 1267 to August 10th, 1343 a
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| Parish of S. Frediano, Gonfalone Drago S. Spirito, Quartiere S. Spirito | August 11th, 1343 to 1785 |
April 30th, 1267 b
|
foundation |
June 30th, 1268 c
|
construction |
1328 to 1360s d
|
construction |
1363 to circa 1490 e
|
construction |
April 19th, 1422 f
|
|
16th of unknown month, 1459 to October 21st, 1475 g
|
construction |
1564 h
|
renovation |
1568 i
|
destruction |
1597 j
|
construction |
1500s to 1600s |
renovation |
1600 k
|
renovation |
circa 1612 l
|
destruction |
1771 m
|
destruction |
1782 |
renovation |
| del Vernaccia | April 30th, 1267 to 1268 |
|
| frati di Santa Maria del Carmine | April 30th, 1267 to circa 1786 (date is approximate) n
|
|
| donne di Santa Maria del Popolo | May 6th, 1460 o
|
|
| Compagnia del Crocifisso | circa 1485 to circa 1618 |
|
| Compagnia di S. Alberto nero | circa 1485 to circa 1618 |
|
| Compagnia di S. Maria e di S. Bastiano detta del Poponcino | October 22nd, 1486 to 1771 |
|
| Congregazione di S. Maria Maddalena de Pazzi nel Carmine | circa 1611 (date is approximate) to 1730 |
|
| Compagnia dell'Abito della Madonna | ||
| Compagnia de Tedeschi dell'Alemagna alta tessitori di lana | ||
| Compagnia di S. Alberto bianco | ||
| Compagnia di Sant' Agnese | ||
| Compagnia di S. Bastiano de Genovesi | ||
| Confraternita del Carmine |
