San Procolo, Romanesque church in central Florence, Italy.
San Procolo is a Romanesque church on Via de' Giraldi at the corner of Via de' Pandolfini. Its rough-stone facade, originally the apse, has a blocked central rose window and two large side windows; three more windows open along Via Pandolfini, where Romanesque structures have re-emerged. The interior lost its 18th-century vault in a 2005 roof collapse.
A church existed here by the 13th century, originally dedicated to Saints Proculus and Nicomedes and oriented westward until the 16th century. It was rebuilt between 1739 and 1743 as the seat of the Confraternity of Sant'Antonio Abate dei Macellai, one of the four flagellant brotherhoods called buche. After the Second World War it housed Giorgio La Pira's Mass for the poor; the 1966 Arno flood damaged it badly, and in 2005 part of the roof collapsed, destroying the 18th-century vault. In 2019 the Italian state bought it to extend the Bargello museum.
San Procolo was the seat of the Confraternity of Sant'Antonio Abate dei Macellai from 1739 to 1743, one of Florence's four flagellant brotherhoods known as the buche, who practised flogging, strict discipline and night-time prayer. The church also hosted the Compagnia di San Giobbe. After the Second World War it housed Giorgio La Pira's Messa dei poveri, a Mass for the poor.
The church stands at the corner of Via de' Giraldi and Via de' Pandolfini. It was bought by the Italian state in 2019 to enlarge the nearby Bargello museum and is currently under restoration, so the interior cannot be visited. The rough-stone facade with its blocked rose window and the Romanesque structures along Via Pandolfini can be seen from the street.
The devastating Arno flood of 1966 caused severe damage to the building and resulted in the displacement of many medieval artworks that once decorated its interior. Several of these rescued pieces are now visible in city museums.
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