Although it underwent pillage around the end of
the eighteenth century, the church still keeps its seventeenth century
character fully intact, The building, erected on the older Medieval
construction of Santa Maria dei Servi, was renovated after the Council
of Trent and at that time it forsook its previous title in favor
of the name Santissima Annunziata (following the example of the
Order's church in Florence). Works for its embellishment both inside
and outside began only in the late Baroque period and continued
for the better part of the next century. What distinguishes it from
other Pistoian churches is the introduction of stucco decorations
carried out in the eighteenth century. The general project of redesigning
the façade and the inner hall was the work of abbot Francesco Gatteschi,
the same architect we find working on the construction of Villa
Puccini di Scornio (
vs21)
and on other important projects of the early 1700s (
vs38).
Before this time, work on the church had been limited to a series
of confessionals and to the renovation of the altar dedicated to
Saint Filippo Benizi, founder of the order of the Serviti. The six
wooden altars, three on each side, alternating with the side chapels,
are examples of typical liturgical furnishing in the period immediately
following the Council of Trent. The church altars have almost all
been donated by benefactors, as is seen in the families' coats of
arms in the stucco decorations. They bear witness in how the worship
of the Virgin was deeply felt in the city. On the choir vault we
find the large fresco portraying The Virgin in Glory, and in the
presbytery the tempera panels with the Flights of Angels, Patient
Christ, and the Grieving Virgin, all works carried out in the 1720s
by the Florentine painter Gian Domenico Ferretti who was very active
in Pistoia, as can be seen in his other painting cycles (
vs21/38).
A few years later, a new series of frescos was done at window level,
portraying the Santorale dei Servi by Niccolò Nannetti who was also
engaged in other projects in the city (
vs21).
The last great eighteenth century work was the rearrangement of
the presbytery, beginning in mid century, when the high altar in
wood was replaced by one carved in marble by the Florentine artist
Angelo Fortini.
(n.) refers to the number of the file-card (s.i.) means see information
inside
The cloister frescos
In 1600 the monks decided to havè their cloister decorated with
scenes of the Seven Founding Saints and of Holy Buonaventura Buonaccorsi.
The frescos in the twenty-six lunettes and the portraits of the
Serviti fathers painted in the pedentives were carried out in the
first half of the seventeenth century by different painters: the
Florentines Bernardino Poccetti, Cecco Bravo, Giovanni Martinelli
and the Pistoians Alessio Gimignani and Rancesco Leoncini. In 1696
the Florentine painter Filippo Crernoncini painted the captions
under each lunette and completed the decoration of the cloister
with frescos depicting episodes of Holy Buonaventura Giving His
Riches to the Poor and Holy Buonaventura Despising Luxury. All these
paintings are distinguished by the narrative and figurative style
that could be easily understood by the faithful, in keeping with
the dictates of the Counter Reformation.
