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The Churches
 (XIII
century) THE CHURCH OF SAINT MARGARET
The church rises from an enchanting position on the high part of
the hill.
On the site of the present day church existed a small church built
by the Camaldolesi monks in the eleventh century and dedicated to
Saint Basil. The small church was damaged during the sack of Cortona
in 12588 and reconstructed in 1288 by Saint Margaret and along with
St. Basil it was also dedicated to Sant'Egidio and Saint Catherine
of Alexandria. Saint Margaret died in 1297 in a room at the back
of the little church where she had lived the last years of her life.
She was buried in the little church of Saint Basil.
Immediately after the death of Margaret, the Cortonese constructed
a larger church designed by Giocanni Pisano where in 1330 they transferred
the body of the saint. From then on this church was simply called
the church of Santa Margherita. This church was then embellished
with paintings and sculpture mainly from the Sienese workshops,
of which remain a few paltry relics; such as the sarcophagus of
the Saint and the Rose window installed in the modern day facade.
Two marble madonnas and a remainder of a fresco attributed to Lorenzetti
are conserved at the Diocese Museum. The church underwent considerable
Baroque transformations in 1738 and in modern times, in the second
half of the nineteenth century, until the little church as well
as the larger church by Pisano were completely demolished and therefore
unrecognizable today. Of the early constructions only the choir
and two vaults, the second and third of the central nave exist.
As it appears today the church is the work of architect Falcini,
who modified the project of Presenti as far as the interior is concerned.
The facade is the work of Cortonese architect Domenico Mirri (1856-1939)
who took over the supervision job from Father Paolo (1803-1878).
He left behind a journal of the construction work on the new Saint
Margaret church which has recently been printed by the Etruscan
Academy at Calosci Editors, 1989. The rich marble mausoleum to the
left of the transept by the Sienese workshops and the saint's urn
the work of Pietro Berrettini are to be admired.
In the altar at the back of the nave on the right is a precious
wooden crucifix, originally kept in the Church of St. Francis and
the work of an unknown artist from the early 1200's. Margaret prayed
before this cross and receive comfort and spiritual guidance. On
the right side walls are relics donated in devotion by the Cortonese
Knights of Malta. On the left nave is a large chapel in memory of
Cortonese who died in war. Behind the church is the bell-tower (1650)
and the ancient Franciscan monastery surrounded by a large park.
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