Santa Maria del Sasso, also known as the Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Sasso is a Renaissance church near Bibbiena

Bibbiena

Bibbiena is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, Tuscany , the largest town in the valley of Casentino. It is located 60 kilometers from Florence, 30 kilometers from Arezzo, 60 kilometers from Siena and 20 kilometers from the Sanctuary of La Verna.The town is on top of a hill at an...

 in Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

The first church on the site was constructed in 1347 following a reported appearance of the Virgin Mary on 23 June 1347. The current building was commissioned by Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici

Lorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...

 and constructed by Giuliano da Maiano

Giuliano da Maiano

Giuliano da Maiano was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated.- Biography :...

 starting in 1486. Following a visit by Savonarola in 1495 the work was expanded to include a convent and sanctuary. It was given the status of minor basilica

Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 in 1942.

In the centre of the church there is a tempietto or free-standing chapel containing a fresco of the Madonna and child by Bicci di Lorenzo

Bicci di Lorenzo

Bicci di Lorenzo was an Italian painter and sculptor, active in Florence.He was born in Florence in 1373, the son of the painter, Lorenzo di Bicci, whose workshop he joined. He married in 1418, and in 1424 was registered in the Guild of Painters at Florence. His son, Neri di Bicci was also a...

. There is an altarpiece of Christ and John the Baptist in polychrome

Polychrome

Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...

 terracotta by Giovanni della Robbia

Giovanni della Robbia

thumb|250px|Saint Sebastian, [[Musée du Louvre]], Paris.Giovanni della Robbia was an Italian Renaissance ceramic artist. He was the son of Andrea della Robbia and grandnephew of Luca della Robbia....

, and another Madonna and child by Fra Paolo da Pistoia

Fra Paolo da Pistoia

Fra Paolo da Pistoia was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period, active in Tuscany. He was a pupil of the painter Fra Bernardino Signoracci. He was a Dominican monk who painted in a style similar to Fra Bartolomeo....

.