Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine

via Guasco - 15121 Alessandria (AL)
Tel. +39 0131 253.652
Tel. +39 0131 512239
E-mail: beniculturali@diocesialessandria.it
http://diocesialessandria.it/
https://www.cittaecattedrali.it/it/bces/49-santa-maria-del-carmine-alessandria
https://www.comune.alessandria.it/schede-informative/medioevo

The construction of the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel began around 1320 and was soon replaced in the second half of the century with another larger building, with the addition of a cloister, by the Carmelite Fathers, who were already present in the area in the late 12th century; with the contribution of several wealthy families of the city, they restored the structure. The building was enlarged starting from 1466, with the addition of the major chapel, but the works continued to the 16th century, and included the construction of the naves, the other chapels and the sacristy (1576). In the 18th century, the church suffered a period of strong deterioration; from 1745, during the war of Austrian succession, it was used as a military hospital and seriously damaged. In the early 1800s it was used as the headquarters of the National Guard by Napoleon’s Government, until a phase of restoration work began in 1865 which lasted until 1954, with the intent of returning it to its original gothic beauty.