The construction was commissioned by Jacopo III d’Appiano and is in a typically Renaissance style. The structure crowned the prince’s fortified residence on the Santa Maria hill and stood at the center of the square. The original wooden roof was concealed during the Napoleonic era by the current vaulted ceiling, while the main altar with its marble altarpiece was dismantled and replaced by another in Baroque style, taken from the Lucchese church of the Angel and still placed there (around 1811). The apse was walled up, and the presbytery was rebuilt on a larger scale to accommodate the enormous altar.
**Description:** The statue depicts a Madonna and Child, made of polychrome terracotta in the Robbian style. The Madonna has an expression of loving indulgence toward the child, supporting him with her left arm while holding his small hand with her right, as the child makes a blessing gesture.
**In use from:** Between 1375 and 1400
**Image:** Statue
**Collection of ex-votos:** No
**Original location of the Sanctuary:** In 1777, the sacred image, adorned with precious ornaments, was placed on the main altar.
**Notes on the collection:** Numerous jewels were donated to the Virgin, as evidenced by the 1858 Inventory of the Royal Oratory of Cittadella, compiled by the General Directorate of Waters, Roads, and Civil Buildings of the State. According to the inventory, a vast number of votive offerings were given, among which jewelry was particularly abundant.
**Types of ex-votos:** Goldsmith objects, miscellaneous items
**Current preservation status:** Dispersed.
1465 marks the year the church was commissioned by Jacopo III d’Appiano, Lord of Piombino. Prior to that date, the miraculous image—a polychrome terracotta in the Robbian style—was kept in the Pieve of San Lorenzo in Piombino. Due to the poor condition of the building, Jacopo d’Appiano had the icon moved to the chapel of his newly constructed palace, where it remained. As handwritten records from Piombino recount, the Madonna and Child, due to the immense wonders, graces, and favors she continuously bestowed, was proclaimed and venerated by the people of Piombino as their Protector. Previously housed in the Pieve of San Lorenzo, the deteriorating state of the temple likely prompted its transfer to the new chapel erected by Jacopo.
Numerous entries in Piombino’s Council Books frequently mention the Madonna of San Lorenzo, revealing that the people of Piombino often sought her intercession during adverse circumstances and privately or publicly donated alms in her honor. During particularly dire times, the statue of the Virgin was carried in procession through the streets of Piombino. The same manuscript records mention that in 1631, the plague ceased thanks to pious devotion: *”And certainly, the miracle was evident, for in a procession where the entire populace gathered—necessarily crowded as usual—though pressed closely together, none were contaminated by the disease.”*
From 1819 to around 1822, the sanctuary, under the supervision of the General Directorate of Waters, Roads, and Civil Buildings, remained closed to the faithful, and its furnishings were seized. However, the Commander of Piombino, who carried out these orders, later worked to reopen the place of worship. In a letter to the Governor of Piombino, he emphasized the deep devotion of the people toward the image: *”I can assure Your Excellency that, though I executed this Sovereign Command as my duty, knowing the devotion of this people to the Madonna of Cittadella—Protector of this city—I arranged for the items to be shipped in crates at night, fearing unrest. Not because the people of Piombino are unruly, but opposing a widespread devotion and stripping a beloved sanctuary is always dangerous […].”*
**Published legend in E. Niccolini,** *La Madonnina della Cittadella nella storia e nella leggenda*, Piombino, Ind. Tip. La Perseveranza, n.d., pp. 4–14.
**Summary:** History recounts that this image by Andrea della Robbia was once stolen by the people of Livorno and miraculously returned. When Jacopo III d’Appiano saw that the temple of San Lorenzo—where the Robbian Madonna was kept—was in ruins, he built a beautiful chapel near his residence in Cittadella. It was also said that the Virgin miraculously appeared in the new chapel without any human intervention.
In 1913–1926, the Oratory of Cittadella became the center of a dispute between the Parish of Sant’Antimo and that of the Immacolata, to which the sanctuary had belonged since 1901. The parish priest of the Immacolata sought to obtain the keys to the sanctuary from Sant’Antimo. This entry was compiled by Beatrice Sordini.
In 1846, Bishop Giuseppe Maria Traversi granted indulgences to devout visitors in gratitude for deliverance from the scourge of an earthquake. In 1928, Bishop Giovanni Piccioni also granted indulgences during a procession celebrating the recovery of the Madonna’s image, which had been stolen in 1914.
In 1822, Major Commander Adriano Nugnes, stationed in Piombino, wrote to the bishop requesting the reopening of the Cittadella Chapel and the appointment of a new military chaplain.
On March 22, 1858, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to prevent disputes between the Archpriest and the local district engineer regarding the sanctuary, decreed that patronage be transferred to the Bishop. On April 23, 1858, the General Directorate of Waters, Roads, and Civil Buildings compiled an inventory of the Royal Oratory of Cittadella, formalizing the handover of furnishings from engineer Aristodemo Ficalbi to Don Giuseppe Montauti.
Patronage is attested in a 1823 letter as already in effect. By 1814, patronage had passed to the Directorate of Waters, Roads, and Civil Buildings, effectively suppressing the sanctuary, which was closed and only reopened for worship in 1822.
The Baciocchi Princes ruled Piombino during the Napoleonic era. The Appiano Princes had built the chapel within the citadel, and their role as patrons was commemorated by numerous marble plaques inside the sanctuary adorned with their family crests.
57025 Piombino, Province of Livorno, Italy
