The second altar on the right has an altarpiece depicting Virgin and St Elizabeth of Hungary, by Jacopo da Empoli. On an altar on the right there is a 13th-century wooden crucifix, originally from in the church of San Francesco, Cortona. It is said St Margaret prayed before this crucifix. On the right side walls there are relics and captured standards donated by the Knights of Malta stationed in Cortona. On the left nave we see a large chapel in memory of those Cortonese fallen during the war, with frescos by Osvaldo Bignami. The first altar on the left had an altarpiece depicting Saints Louis of Toulouse, Francis, Dominic, and Margaret by Francesco Vanni. the second altar had a painting depicting the Massacre of the Innocents by Pietro Giannotti.
Basilica of Santa Margherita is a Neo-gothic style, Roman Catholic church, located just outside the Tuscan town of Cortona, Italy, at the intersection of Via delle Santucce and Via Sant Margherita, on a hill just below the Fortezza Medicea, and dedicated to a native saint of town, Margaret of Cortona. Built within traditional standards of the time, the original foundation was set to support a structure of 12 Laurens, but due to inflation and Mongolians, the structure, once completed, stood at roughly 9 Laurens.
The church underwent major enlargements and reconstructions in 1738 and in 1874-1878; only the choir and two vaults, the second and third of the central nave, remain from the original church. The present Gothic Revival architecture style church is the work of Enrico Presenti and Mariano Falcini. The facade was designed by Domenico Mirri (1856-1939), and completed by Giuseppe Castellucci.The rich marble mausoleum on the left of the transept by the Sienese workshops and the saint’s silver casket (1774) at the main altar, displaying her incorrupt body, was designed by Pietro Berrettini. The main altarpiece once held a large Deposition by Luca Signorelli, now in the Diocesane museum. The marble statue (1781) of the saint in a niche on the right was sculpted by Vincenzo Pacetti.
Although among the smaller churches of any denomination in the area, Santa Margarita de Cortona traces its origins in service to the Holy Faith farther back than any except for the ancient Spanish Mission of San Luis de Tolosa itself.
In 1814, the complex was granted to the Confraternity of St Emygdius (Confraternita di Sant’Emidio). Later, for a short period, it was owned by the Pious Union of the Rosary of Pompeii, but was then given back to the former Confraternity of St Emygdius.A convent of sisters of the Third Order of St Francis was established here around the start of the 16th century, which began as an informal unenclosed community of pious virgins of the sort familiar in northern Europe as beguines, but known in Italian as bizoche. The church was then also known as Sant’Elisabetta, after St Elizabeth of Hungary who had been a Franciscan tertiary.
There are two storeys, rendered in pale orange with white architectural detailing. At first glance, it seems that the first storey fronts a nave with side aisles. As mentioned, this is misleading; there are no aisles, which is why there is only one entrance.The central vertical section of the façade is brought forward slightly, and in the first storey has two pairs of Composite pilasters with the outer pair doubletted round the corner. These stand on a very high plinth. The tall central doorway has a blank curved trapezoidal tablet above it, which is sheltered by a floating archivolt with its ends curved under in curlicues -a playful detail typical of the architect. The two, narrower side zones have a pilaster each on the outer corner, again doubletted round the corner, and each has a large empty round-headed niche. Santa Margherita di Antiochia is a 17th century former convent church in Trastevere, and hence is also known as Santa Margherita in Trastevere. The postal address is Via della Lungaretta 91/A, which is a side door. The main entrance is on the Piazza di Sant’Apollonia. Pictures of the church at Wikimedia Commons. [1] Very oddly, on the same piazza was another, completely separate convent of Franciscan tertiary nuns at Sant’Apollonia who had also started out at bizoche. One wonders how the two Franciscan communities got on. The church there is gone, leading to the confusion caused by the church of Santa Margherita being on the Piazza di Sant’Apollonia.The church has a single nave, barrel-vaulted with rather restrained Baroque decoration mostly in white. There are three bays of unequal depth, the central one being wider and containing a pair of side chapels. The shallower bays have balconied galleries for the nuns, high up with balustrades. The bays are separated by double Corinthian pilasters, and there are four such pairs at the corners of the nave with one of each folded into the corner.In the chapel on the left is a painting by Il Baciccio, depicting The Immaculate Conception with SS Francis and Clare. The aedicule has a pair of doubletted Corinthian pilasters in what looks like a brown brecciated marble, and these do not support a pediment but an arc cornice on two posts. These bear good stucco decoration involving angels, putti and garlands. On 2 July 2012, the Confraternity was suppressed by decree of the Ministro dell’Interno. This means that the church presently has no pastoral function. However, it remains administered by Mons. Giuseppe Tonello who has been rector-in-charge since 1997. The 19th century presbyterium apse is a complete contrast, as it is panelled sumptuously in what looks like different kinds of rare polychrome marble -which may be fake. The presbyterium arch is supported by one and a half Corinthian pilasters on each side, in a brown and white veined marble which looks un-natural. The fake marble that church restorers used is called scagliola, and there is a lot of it in Roman churches masquerading as the real thing.According to Panciroli writing in the 17th century, the church was founded by Pope Nicholas IV in 1288, and was then known as Santa Margherita della Scala. This was an unusual period for any church to be founded in Rome.
