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Deruta: Church of the Madonna delle Piagge

[image ALT: A tall brick building. It is the church of the Madonna delle Piagge in Deruta, Umbria (central Italy).]

This large church sits on the Via Tiberina, the old road from Torgiano, as it heads south out of town toward Collepepe. It was built on the cusp of the 17c; but the architect clearly seems to have been impressed by one of the very old churches of Ravenna or possibly the Roman basilica in Trier. Like many churches in Italy, it's usually closed, opening only for Mass or the evening recitation of the Rosary, whether daily, on Sunday, on special occasions, or even the minimum once a year required by canon law.

[image ALT: The upper part of a brick building with a two-slope roof, surmounted by a pair of iron crosses. The most prominent feature of the photograph is a large tile panel of the Virgin Mary. It is a detail of the façade of the church of the Madonna delle Piagge in Deruta, Umbria (central Italy).]

Like almost every public building in Deruta, the church is prominently decorated in the local majolica for which the town is famous. Here, watching over the faithful, we have Mother and Child enthroned, in a Byzantine-influenced style.

Embarrassing personal note: for nearly twelve years almost everything on this page, except my photos of course, was wrong. I had misidentified, misdated and slightly mislocated the church. I had failed to do my homework, to ask questions of local people, and to take good notes. There's a lesson in that for all of us.

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