in a central position of the Pentagono del Buontalenti on the south side of Piazza Grande once named Piazza d’Arme. The original plan was drawn up by Bernardo Buontalenti when he projected the new town. The construction began in June 1581 on a reviewed plan by Alessandro Pieroni under the direction of Antonio Cantagallina. The church had a rectangular plant with a single nave, the original wooden ceiling, executed from 1610 to 1614, was carved by Vincenzo Ricordati and gilded with seven inserted paintings. Jacopo Ligozzi, Domenico Cresti and Jacopo Chimenti decorated, from 1610 to 1614, three large paintings representing "Saint Francis with Child and the Virgin", the "Assumption of Mary" and the "Apotheosis of Saint Julia", the other four paintings were works by minor artists. The simply façade had a marble porch with twin Doric columns surmounted by a terrace added in 1605 on a project by Alessandro Pieroni. The church was consecrated on 19 February 1606 by Monsignor Nunzio Antonio Grimani; on request by Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1629, was elevated to collegiate church and the Curato was substituted from a Proposto having the functions of the Vicar of the archbishop of Pisa. The plant of the church was modified in Christian cross when in 1716 was added the first of two lateral chapels. The left side chapel, dedicated to the Eucharist, was built on a project by Giovanni del Fantasia with frescoes by Giovanni Maria Terreni and the altar attributed to Giovanni Baratta, The right side chapel, dedicated to Immaculate Conception, was built in 1727 and was decorated with paintings by Luigi Ademollo. The Collegiata in 1806 was elevated to cathedral and in 1817 was added the bell tower 50 meters high on project by Gaspero Pampaloni. The cathedral was completely destroyed in 1943 from the Allied bombardment during World War II; it was then rebuilt respecting the original structure except for the two marble porches added to the transepts and was consecrated on 21 December 1952 by Bishop Giovanni Piccioni. Since 2006, on the occasion of the bicentennial of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Livorno, the "Christ Crowned with Thorns", by Fra Angelico, was displayed in the Chapel of the Eucharist. Church of the Madonna The Church of the Madonna is placed on the homonymous street which connects directly the city centre with the district Venezia Nuova through the John of