The “Chiesa degli Olandesi” (Dutch Church) was owned by the Dutch German congregation, which ceased to exist in the 1960s. The lack of an active congregation was the prime cause of the decline in the state of conservation of the temple.
Some basic maintenance was assured by the descendants of the members of the former congregation, but this was not enough to block the construction of an apartament building just behind the church or to avoid the demolition of the spires for safety reasons.Already in 1996 there was some water damage inside the church due to leaks, the walls were unsafe and the great glass panels of the windows had been shattered.
In 1997 the congregation was formed again and a new project was presented with the idea of opening the temple for cultural events and not just for worship.After the last war the church, with its excellent acoustics due to its slender shape, was already being used as an auditorium . Sadly, the organ, one of the best in Tuscany, was stolen during the war.
With the new millennium the roof was somewhat fixed and the windows repaired, but a few years after, in 2005, part of the ceiling collapsed on the old wood benches. Another minor collapse was visible in 2008 on the structure to the left of the main entrance.
The congregation has no funds to finance any rebuilding without outside support and it is not even able to suggest a practical project for this temple. The lack of public interest about this building is amazing; people and politicians seem really not to care about it. The wall of the canal in front of the church collapsed 15 years ago and has still to be rebuilt.
To publicize this situation letters have been sent to the press, to the local council, to the Department of National Heritage and even to the Embassies of The Netherlands and Germany.To raise awareness of this situation a Facebook group was created: “Salviamo la chiesa degli Olandesi a Livorno” (Let's save the Dutch church in Livorno) by our friend Stefano, whose comment to another post I have just translated above.
See also: Abandoned Church - Scali degli Olandesi
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