Prato - Santa Maria delle Cárceri

The Church of Santa Maria delle Cárceri, opposite the north corner of the castello, owes its name to a miraculous image of the Virgin painted on the wall of a prison (cárcere) which once stood here. To house the painting Giuliano da Sangallo built this handsome Renaissance church, on a Greek cross plan, between 1484 and 1495. The exterior is faced with colored marble, and there is a dome over the crossing. The church contains terracotta medallions of the Evangelists by Andrea della Robbia.