Church of Sant'Anna in Giolica in Prato
A 13th-century church connected to a convent
The Church of Sant’Anna in Giolica is located in Prato. The entire complex was built starting in 1269 as a hermitage and convent, but over time, it underwent various changes to both the structure and its use.
The 13th-century church was enlarged in the early 1500s, at a time when the small dome was added, a clear reference to the architecture of Brunelleschi and Sangallo. A few centuries later, the building was further raised and later became a place for experimenting with modern machinery for spinning cotton and wool, headed by Giovan Battista Mazzoni.
The church is accessed via a beautiful Renaissance porch, whose style is also replicated inside the building. The church has a Latin-cross plan, with its transepts intersecting under the small dome, while the decorations include various 14th-century frescoes on the counter-façade depicting the Virgin Mary, St. Catherine and two saints, 18th-century altarpieces by Pietro Santi Bambocci and the altarpiece by Giovanni Stradano, dated 1592 and depicting St. Anne, the Madonna and Child and other saints.
