Santa Maria della Spina

Santa Maria della Spina is a small Pisan Gothic church on the Arno's south bank. Its richly decorated marble exterior gives the former riverside oratory the appearance of an enlarged reliquary.

Why it matters

Founded in 1230 as Santa Maria del Ponte Novo, the church took the name della Spina after a thorn relic was brought there in 1333. The relic is now kept at Santa Chiara, but the tabernacle that displayed it remains inside. The church is a compact example of Pisan Gothic architecture and sculpture.

What to notice

The façade gathers cusped gables, pinnacles, colonnettes and sculpted niches into a dense marble composition. Statues from the workshop of Andrea Pisano include the Annunciation and Redeemer; the side galleries hold figures of apostles. Inside, the single hall retains two-tone marble banding, and the altar sculptures of the Madonna, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter are attributed to Nino and Andrea Pisano.

Context and history

The Ponte Novo that gave the church its first name collapsed in the fifteenth century and was not rebuilt. Arno water infiltration later threatened the foundations. In 1871 the church was dismantled and reassembled about a metre higher; the work removed the sacristy, and some sculptures were replaced with copies. Andrea and Nino Pisano's Madonna del Latte was moved to the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo.