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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona

parish church in Cortona, Arezzo

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ3673504 ↗
Source-derived summary

The church of Santa Maria Nuova is a Roman Catholic place of worship, located just outside the walls of the town of Cortona, in Tuscany, Italy.

Construction

The church was built to house a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin that previously had been in a private chapel. Construction was begun in 1550, and the church was consecrated in 1610. The original church design is attributed to Giorgio Vasari, and modified by Battista Cristoforo Fanelli. Nestled half-way up and against a hillside, the ground plan is a square, and the church is surmounted by a dome with a lantern, completed in 1600.

Furnishings

The high altar was completed by Cortonese artist Bernardino Radi. The altarpiece to the right of the entrance holds a painting by Alessandro Allori, depicting the Birth of the Virgin Mary (16th century). The rosette window on the facade was designed by Urbano Urbani (16th century) and depicts an Adoration of the Magi.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona” as parish church in Cortona, Arezzo. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Santa, Maria and Nuova.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1550, 1610, 1600—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Santa, Maria and Nuova providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona”, the useful work is to connect “parish church in Cortona, Arezzo” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3673504. Authority coordinates are 43.279, 11.989. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1550, 1610 and 1600.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona primary sources, Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona archive and Santa research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Santa Maria Nuova, Cortona” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.