Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta
The village of Santa Maria del Giudice takes its name, starting in the 12th century, from a noble family of Lombard origins from Lucca (the Leone Giudices), who owned extensive property here. The new road to Pisa cuts the village in two, and the two parish churches are located on opposite sides of the road. On one side is the historic parish church of San Giovanni Battita (which locals call the "old parish church"), and on the other is the "new parish church," dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta.
STREET ADDRESS: Church Street, Santa Maria del Giudice
In the 12th century, the Leone Giudice, an ancient and noble family from Lucca, who had numerous assets and properties in Santa Maria del Giudice, had a church built, smaller than the current one.
After a century, it was renovated and expanded to accommodate an ever-increasing number of worshippers. The interior underwent further modifications in 1375, as can be read in an inscription on the second column on the left.
The church is built with white limestone ashlars from nearby quarries, which enhance the purity of this sober and balanced Romanesque style, typically Luccan but with a clear Pisan influence.
The white façade, with a tympanum of columns and inlaid elements, is characterised by a double order of overlapping blind arches, which also run along all the side walls.
The architrave of the central portal, carved with plant motifs, and the shelf above it, decorated in high relief, are of excellent quality.
The bell tower is distinctive for its octagonal shape, rising above the church's circular apse. A weathervane commemorates its construction date: 1891.
Inside, the church is divided into three naves, separated by elegant white limestone columns with refined capitals and round arches.
The ceiling features wooden trusses, and the counterfaçade houses a finely crafted organ. The two confessionals, built into the thickness of the masonry and set within a classical architectural framework, are also very distinctive and of noteworthy quality.
Itinera Romanica (Romanesque itineraries)
Today the church is an important stop on one of the many Romanesque itineraries that characterize the Upper Tyrrhenian area, between Italy and France.
Nature, historical, and cultural itineraries that pass through small hilltop villages and rural areas along paths and ancient trails, where you encounter minor religious architecture to be rediscovered and enhanced, such as churches, basilicas, parish churches, and chapels.
The current layout of the Pieve Nuova di Santa Maria del Giudice building dates back to the 12th century. Originally a chapel for the Leone Giudice family of Lucca, the church was renovated and enlarged a century later, taking on its current appearance.
The church has a three-nave layout, divided internally by white limestone columns, with a semicircular apse facing east. The Pisan Romanesque influence on the church's structure is unmistakable: the building's walls, similar to Pisa Cathedral, are made of white limestone ashlars from the nearby quarries of San Giuliano and Santa Maria.