Church of Madonna del Soccorso

The Church of Madonna del Soccorso and San Marco (Our Lady of Help and St. Mark) is located a few kilometers from Montopoli in Val d'Arno, near the village of Costa al Bagno.
In this very place, in ancient times, there stood a tabernacle with a loggia in which a Madonna was depicted, known as "Margine grande di via Uliveta" (Great margin of Via Uliveta).
The church was built in 1606 - by the Confraternity of Soccorso, from which it takes its name - as an extension of the old structure and was dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist and the Blessed Virgin.
The building has a rectangular plan and a portico with five arches; the facade houses an inscription and the coats of arms of the local Toscani and Langeri families on the central arch.
A simple painting adorns the lunette of the entrance portal; part of the furnishings is on display in the Civic Museum of Palazzo Guicciardini.