The collegiate church of Santa Maria Assunta is the main place of Catholic worship in Camaiore, seat of the parish of the same name, belonging to the archdiocese of Lucca.
Located in the center of the ancient urban layout of Camaiore, the church of Santa Maria Assunta was founded in 1278 following the expansion of the rural village which had until then depended on the Benedictine abbey of San Pietro. In Romanesque style, the bell tower was built between 1350 and 1365. In 1387 it became a baptismal church, by bull of Pope Urban VI, who, granting you the font, dismembered it from the parish church of San Giovanni Battista di Camaiore. On 26 January 1515, Pope Leo X, at the request of the Republic of Lucca, elevated it to a collegiate church, establishing a chapter of canons and beneficiaries, with the dignity of prior, in the person of the pro tempore parish priest, with the rank of apostolic prothonotary.
Since the fifteenth century, the church has undergone a series of restorations that have changed its appearance, without however changing the ancient Romanesque structure. Particularly after the earthquake of 1536, during which it was seriously damaged, it was rebuilt and reopened for worship. In the 18th century, the church underwent a series of Baroque-style restorations, with the construction of the apse and some side chapels. On 23 October 1799 it was consecrated by the archbishop of Lucca, Filippo Sardi; previously the dedication of the church was remembered every year, on March 15, but ignoring the precise date. In the early 20th century, the exterior was brought back to its original Romanesque features.
Exterior
The collegiate church of Santa Maria Assunta is located in the historic center of Camaiore, in Piazza San Bernardino da Siena, not far from the town hall.
The salient façade overlooks the square, brought back to Romanesque forms with a restoration at the beginning of the 20th century. It has a wall facing with squared stone blocks and has a particular asymmetrical structure, being on the left, the bell tower. Below, the two portals open, each of which is surmounted by a simple lunette without decoration. In correspondence with the central nave, there is a circular rose window.
To the left of the facade rises the high fourteenth-century bell tower. It has a square plan, with the clock face on the front facade. The belfry opens onto the outside with large single lancet windows. Inside there are three large bells (the largest in the municipality after those of Capezzano Pianore), of which the largest dates back to 1740 and is the work of the Lucchese founder Pietro Berti, the mizzen was cast by Giovanni Quirico Benigni and Luigi Magni di San Quirico of Valleriana (PT) in 1835, while the small one is the work of Raffaello Magni of Lucca (cast in 1910). There are also two bells, which do not form a chord with the three main bells. The largest of them was created by the Lucchese Domenico Zanatta and Vincenzo Clari in 1742, while the smallest is the work of Giò Quirico Benigni della Valleriana in 1825.
Interior
The interior of the collegiate church has a Latin cross plan, with three naves and a cross vault covered with a dome, and has elegant eighteenth-century forms.
At the entrance to the church, in a room located at the base of the bell tower, is the well baptismal font, with reliefs from 1387 and a rectangular basin dating back to the same period.
In the church the marble altars and confessionals stand out, works of fine local stonemasons, the ancient silver candelabra and some Baroque altarpieces by the local painter Giovanni Marracci. In the chapel at the end of the left aisle, dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, there is the Annunciation in bas-relief, by Stefano Tofanelli, placed above the altar, and, on the right wall, the canvas Communion of the Apostles by Pier Dandini, while in the apse is the Assumption between Saints Peter and Paul. The dome is frescoed with the Coronation of the Virgin by Benedetto Brandimarte. Close to the back wall of the left transept, there is a valuable carved wooden Crucifix from the 14th century.
Pipe organ
On the counter-façade choir loft is the Paolino Bertolucci opus 18 pipe organ, built in 1866, reusing part of the phonic material from previous organs from the 17th and 18th centuries. Restored and altered in 1954 and 1965 by the Parodi e Marin firm, it underwent a conservative restoration in 2001 by the Mascioni firm, which restored its original characteristics.
The instrument has a mechanical transmission and its console has a single keyboard of 54 notes with the first extended chromatic octave and 18-note lectern pedalboard, with the 18th pedal corresponding to the third hand. The registers are operated by side-scrolling handcuffs placed to the right of the console, on two columns.
The organ is housed inside a wooden case richly decorated with sculptures and gilded reliefs. The exhibition is divided into five fields and is made up of main pipes with miter spouts arranged in a cusp within each field.
