Church of Santa Maria della Spina

Facciata Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina e Lungarno (A. Matteucci)

The construction of the church of Santa Maria della Spina, wanted by the rich Gualandi family, probably went hand in hand with that of the Novo bridge (1182), destroyed in the 15th century. The façade is closed by three triangular pediments, decorated with rosettes and inlays, on which, inside small aedicules, there are the statues of the Annunciation (on the sides) and the Redeemer, works of the school of Andrea Pisano. The central aedicule there hosts the Madonna and Child with Angels by Giovanni Pisano. On the side is a gallery of statues, Christ and Apostles, attributed to Giovanni, like the statues of the eastern side. On the high pyramidal spires there is a Madonna and Child with Angels by Nino Pisano. The interior of the building has a single hall with wall decorations in two-tone bands, on the altar stands out a Madonna of the Rose by Andrea Pisano (1343-1348) placed between Saints Peter and John the Baptist, by Nino and Tommaso Pisano.On the counter façade there is a copy of Madonna del Latte by Andrea Pisano (1343-1348), icon of the city. The original is now kept in the National Museum of San Matteo.

We do not have a certain date for the foundation of the church, which was four meters below the current level, on the bed of the river, but we know that it had the name of oratory of Santa Maria in Pontenovo. In 1325, works started that led it to assume the gothic form that we can observe today. The name Spina derives from the relic of the thorn of Christ's crown present in the building since 1333, left to the Longhi family by a wealthy merchant and later donated to the small oratory (today the relic is in the church of Santa Chiara). The church is owned by the Municipality of Pisa and hosts temporary exhibitions.