ST.
JAMES
CHURCH
Our History
The St. James Church in Florence is a Living Testament of Faith and History
The city of Florence did not permit the presence of non-Catholic churches until after the exile of the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1849. The Tuscan parliament then passed legislation permitting churches of other denominations. Around 1850, some Americans began to organize a church. St. James became an official parish in 1867.
Our church was the last work of an English architect prominent in the Gothic Revival movement of the late nineteenth century. The land was purchased in 1907 for $12,822. Church construction, the organ, and other furnishings totaled $66,556. More than half of the total funds were contributed by Edward Francis Searles. J. Pierpont Morgan donated $10,000 after church representatives approached him, encouraged by his generosity to the Episcopal Church in Rome and his purchase of land for the Episcopal church of St. Paul’s Within the Walls. After examining the architect’s plans, Morgan found the building plans “inadequate” and requested more elaborate plans. When these were produced, so was his gift.
The church closed during World War II and suffered no heavy damage. It reopened in 1947 in an era when the American community in Florence included Bernard Berenson, Sinclair Lewis, and the M.I.T. inventor Philip Baldwin.
On November 3 and 4, 1966, the Arno River flooded its banks and rose to a height of twelve feet in and around many of Florence’s most important museums and monuments, wreaking devastating damage. Water and fuel oil flooded the undercroft and reached the windowsills of the rectory. St. James parishioners wrote to their friends in America for help. In three months, the parish raised $425,000 for relief. The vestry, in cooperation with the British government, created an agency to support each request, providing a weekly grant of $35 per family.
Dive into our history with our book!
St. James Church: A History of the American Church in Florence by the Rev. Canon Clement W. Welsh tells the story of our community from its founding to today. Available for 15€ from our Church Shop and shipped worldwide (additional cost for shipping calculated based on location).
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