Chiesa di Santa Maria Corteorlandini

Santa Maria Corteorlandini, also known as Santa Maria Nera, combines Romanesque remains with a richly decorated later interior. Its history includes the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God and the development of Lucca's State Library in the adjoining convent.

Why it matters

The church connects medieval rebuilding with the religious culture of the Catholic reform. The Loreto chapel adds a further devotional identity, linking the local name Santa Maria Nera with the dark image of the Madonna.

What to notice

The southern flank and side apses preserve elements of the medieval church, while the brick bell tower belongs to the fourteenth century. Painted surfaces, stucco, an octagonal pulpit and an organ gallery distinguish the later interior. The Loreto chapel reproduces the Santa Casa, and the silver and lapis-lazuli eucharistic tabernacle is attributed to Giovanni Vambrè il Vecchio.

Context and history

The name recalls the Curtis Rolandinga, associated with the Rolandinghi family. A sixth-century necropolis uncovered in 2017 adds evidence for the site's early history without by itself dating the church. An inscription records rebuilding by a master Guido in 1188. The church passed to Leonardi's congregation in 1580; the Loreto chapel followed in 1662, and early eighteenth-century decoration included work by Pietro Scorsini and Domenico Brugieri. The State Library moved into adapted convent premises in August 1877.