Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie in Carrara
Priceless polychrome altars and interesting bas-relief marble altarpieces
The Church of the Madonna delle Grazie in Carrara was built between 1620 and 1660. The sanctuary is still today the object of popular devotion by the locals.
The origin of this place of worship dates to the 16th century, when the governor of the Carrara territory, Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina commissioned a building for an image of the Madonna from a chapel in Palazzetto del Principe. The fresco was placed near the high altar and side tribunes, the work of local architect Alessandro Bergamini and dating to 1640.
The interior of the church is decorated in the Baroque-Rococo style, with compositions that bestow an impressive sense of movement to the space thanks to the use of columns, paintings and polychrome marble, like the Breccia from Pietrasanta. Amongst the artworks on display, noteworthy pieces include a Nativity, Annunciation and Rest on the Flight into Egypt.
The façade, on the other hand, does not reflect the decoration inside, as it dates much later, specifically the 1960s.
