Oratory of Sant'Antonio Abate, Pescia

The Oratory of Sant'Antonio Abate is a 14th-century, Roman Catholic prayer hall located on Via di San Francesco, adjacent to a convent of the same name and now Hospital of Santi Cosma e Damiano, in the town of Pescia, region of Tuscany, Italy.

The facade

History and Description

This church once belonged to the Canons Regular of St Anthony of Vienna, known as the Antonines, a congregation founded circa 1095, with the purpose of caring for those suffering from the common medieval disease of St Anthony's fire. The order resided in the adjacent convent till 17th-century. The hospital, once Ospedale Leopoldino, was built in 1764.

The simple exterior is made of semi-rough stones with an oculus. The interiors have frescoes on the Life of St Anthony Abbott (1407) by Bicci di Lorenzo. One of the frescoes, Temptation of St Anthony, depicts a vista of 15th-century Pescia. A 13th-century wooden sculptural group depicts the Deposition.[1][2]

References
  1. Comune of Pescia itinerary including church.
  2. Beni Culturali of Italy, entry on church.

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