The Basilica della Madonna dell'Umiltà and its 1490 miracle

The Basilica of Our Lady of Humility, or Basilica della Madonna dell'Umiltà, is a Renaissance-style Roman Catholic church in Pistoia, Italy. The exterior features a vertical red-tiled dome that resembles a smaller version of Brunelleschi's dome for the Cathedral of Florence. Its construction began in 1495 as a response to an event in 1490, when legend says people saw blood dripping from a 14th-century fresco of the Madonna. This was interpreted as a sign that the Virgin Mary suffered from the bloodshed in the region.

The miracle was confirmed by the Bishop of Pistoia, Niccolò Pandolfini, and the important families of the city decided to build the sanctuary to honor the Virgin. The fresco is attributed by some to Bartolomeo Cristiani, but was perhaps due to a local painter from Pistoia. Initially, Giuliano da Sangallo was commissioned to design the church, but he left Tuscany, and the design was completed by Ventura Vitoni, who began construction of the octagonal church in 1495 and worked until his death in 1522.

In 1563, the Grand Duke Cosimo I Medici entrusted completion to Giorgio Vasari, who elaborated the tall dome. The main altar was designed in 1579 by Pietro Tacca. The church was consecrated in 1582, though the facade remains incomplete. The 59-meter-high dome was completed in 1569, but its completion had been an arduous and prolonged task. Soon after, cracks appeared in the structure, requiring Vasari to add chains to gird the structure. Problems continued for centuries, requiring further refurbishments well into the 21st century.

In 1931, Pope Pius XI elevated the church to the status of minor basilica. An inventory in 1821 listed the church as containing several works, including Construction of the Temple by Giovanni Domenico Piastrini (Four canvases in atrium), Cain damned by God by Niccola Monti (atrium), other canvases in atrium by Vincenzo Meucci and Gricci Fiorentino (Giuseppe Gricci?), a tomb of bishop Giuseppe Ippoliti sculpted by Francesco Carradori, and a Saint Jacob canvas attributed to Gerino da Pistoia. Other works include Rest in Egypt by Lazzaro Baldi (Alluminati altar), Adoration of the Magi by Francesco Vanni (Panciatichi altar), and frescoes in the Rospigliosi altar attributed to Giovanni Battista Naldini.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons