Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Laici

The Church of Santa Maria dei Laici in Gubbio preserves the art and history of a lay confraternity founded in the fourteenth century. Its collections include Federico Barocci's unfinished Annunciation, completed by his pupil Ventura Mazza, and frescoes by local painters.

Why it matters

The confraternity of Santa Maria dei Laici was founded in 1313, and construction of its church began in 1325. Its history connects religious charity with Gubbio's medieval civic and wool-trading communities.

What to notice

The high altar holds Barocci's Annunciation, commissioned in 1610 and completed by Ventura Mazza after the painter's death. The vaults over the presbytery were frescoed by Francesco Allegrini. Felice Damiani's Stories of the Virgin, painted in 1606–07, include kneeling members of the confraternity. The undercroft preserves fragments of fifteenth-century Passion scenes.

Context and history

The confraternity established a hospital alongside the church, and a bell tower was built in 1467. In the early seventeenth century, a covered loggia above the complex accommodated wool-stretching frames and shops. The Annunciation was moved in 1798 during the French occupation to prevent its removal and was later returned to the church.