Abbeys, basilicas and churches

The Parish Church of San Giovanni Battista in Pievascita is a splendid medieval parish church located in the Chianti countryside north of Siena. The state of abandonment of recent years has meant that part of the roof has collapsed. In the first part of 2022 the church was sold by the Diocese of Siena to a private company which plans ...

An ancient Romanesque rectory in good condition is that of San Michele in Rencine. Its origin is lost in the mists of time, perhaps it was built in the eighth century. The current church has a rectangular plan, the facade is particular and of great value and represents the oldest part of the church. Next to it is the Chapel ...

Monte Oliveto Maggiore is located about 30 km southeast of Siena. The abbey can be reached by crossing the characteristic territory of the Crete Senesi. The abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore above all for the environment in which it is located, but also for the buildings that are part of it and for the works of art that are preserved ...

The Cathedral of Pisa, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, is the main example of a religious building in the Pisan Romanesque style, it was built between 1064 and 1118, the year of its consecration, and expanded in the following centuries. Various architects worked on its construction including Buscheto, Rainaldo, Guglielmo and Biduino. A MASTERPIECE OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE Masterpiece of Romanesque ...

This dome is a 1:8 scale reproduction of the dome of the Florence Cathedral In the countryside around Barberino Val d’Elsa there are some interesting medieval villages, such as those of Tignano and Linari, and religious buildings, such as those of the Pieve di Sant’Appiano and the chapel of San Donnino. On this page we will write about the chapel ...

The ruins of this beautiful church are located just 2 km southeast of Magliano in Toscana. To reach them leaving Magliano you must first take the road that leads to Orbetello, and after traveling a few hundred meters on this road you must turn left at the crossroads taking the road that leads to Marsiliana, after just over a kilometer ...

To reach Badia a Passignano, from Florence take the SGC Firenze-Siena (this road starts from the Firenze-Impruneta exit (ex-Florence-Certosa) of the A1) towards Siena, exit at Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. After the exit, turn right and after about 100 meters, after crossing the bridge over the Pesa river, turn right. Then continue along this road until you start to see ...

The vallombrosana abbey of San Lorenzo a Coltibuono was founded around year thousands, it lived its maximum moment of glory between the 11th and the 12th century: but already in the successive century it began the decline. Even if in 15th century it had an ulterior development under the patronage of Lorenzo de’Medici. The Abbey remained property of the vallombrosani ...

The Church or the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Biagio is located at the foot of the hill of Montepulciano, in the bottom of a driveway lined with cypress trees. This church was built by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder between 1518 and 1545 and is a masterpiece of the sixteenth century. The origin of the church of San ...

Just beyond Colle Alta, you reach the crossroads in Le Grazie, here you take the provincial road n ° 27 in the direction of Casole d’Elsa, a little more than a kilometer away, turn right following a small road bordered by two cypresses with indication Badia a Conèo. Continue for a couple of kilometers until, on the left you reach ...

The Abbey of Saint Antimo is located about 18 km from Montalcino, near Castelnuovo dell’Abate. To get there take the road that from Montalcino goes toward Seggiano and Monte Amiata, shortly before arriving in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, turn right and you soon reach the Abbey. HISTORY Sant’Antimo is truly a beautiful abbey built in travertine, beautiful is also the landscape that surronds ...

The Abbey of San Galgano is easily to reach from Siena taking the state road n.73 in direction of Rosia and Frosini. Four kilometers before arriving to Monticiano turn to right on road n.441 for Massa Marittima and after 2 kilometers turn on the left for the road that leads to the Abbey. The remains of this abbey, with Latin ...

The building most interesting and enjoyable of San Quirico d’Orcia is undoubtedly the magnificent collegiate or parish church of Osenna (Saints Quirico and Giulitta), the church is starting out from the eighth century, but the current structure dates from the twelfth or thirteenth century. The oldest part seems to be that corresponding to the facade and in particular the main ...

To reach the Pieve of Sant’Appiano from Barberino Val d’Elsa, coming from Tavarnelle Val di Pesa you through the entire village of Barberino and near the end of the village turn right towards Linari, after about one km, turn left to Sant’Appiano-Linari, still a 1 km and you reach the Pieve of Sant’Appiano. AN ANCIENT ROMANIC CHURCH IN VAL D’ELSA The ...

The frescoes of the Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca Basilica of San Francesco faces on the square of the same name that is located halfway between the cathedral square and the walls, in the center of the square is the monument to Vittorio Fossombroni. The Basilica of San Francesco is characterized by a bare facade, unfinished, ...

Abbadia a Isola is a small interesting medieval village, it’s lies just 4 km from Monteriggioni along the road to Colle Val d’Elsa. The small village, built around the Cistercian Abbey of San Salvatore, which was founded here in the tenth century, was in medieval times, a stopping place for pilgrims along the Via Francigena. Here was founded in the early eleventh ...

The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine was begun in 1268, and unfortunately damaged by fire in 1771. The interior has a nave, and was re-decorated in the eighteenth century after the fire. Fortunately the fire spared the absolute masterpiece of the church which requires anyone visiting Florence a visit to this church: the beautiful Brancacci Chapel, a masterpiece of ...

The great square on which overlooks the Basilica of Santa Croce is surrounded by some buildings of historical interest such as the Palace dell’Antella (seventeenth century) – with beautiful frescoes by Giovanni da San Giovanni and Filippo Napoletano – and the Palazzo Cocchi Serristori (XVI century) by Baccio d’Agnolo. Basilica of Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence ...

Michelangelo Buonarroti’s Tomb is the work of Vasari (1570). The tomb is located at the beginning of the right nave of the church of Santa Croce, as soon as you cross the main door of the Basilica. Above the tomb there are three sculptures that represent the personifications of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. These figures appear saddened by the disappearance ...

The oldest monument in the Piazza del Duomo, is situated right in front of the facade of Florence Cathedral and is the Baptistery of Saint John. A first building was built already in the fifth or sixth century, this served as a baptistery and should already be octagonal as the present one. In the mid-eleventh century, the baptistery was reconstructed ...

Originally, in the area where it is today Orsanmichele was the oratory of San Michele in Orto, which was demolished in 1239. In its place, around 1290, Arnolfo di Cambio built a loggia for the sale of grain, then according to tradition the image of the Madonna painted on a pillar began to make miracles, and the place became a ...

Giotto’s bell tower is one of the most beautiful Italian bell towers. This structure is the bell tower of the Florence Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The bell tower is detached to the right of the Duomo. This position represents the intention of the designer to highlight the importance of the bell tower compared to other surrounding buildings. The ...

The largest masonry dome ever built by man Brunelleschi’s famous dome forms the cover of the Florence Cathedral and is the largest brick dome built by man. In fact, the major diagonal of the internal dome measures 45.5 meters, while the external one is 54 meters. The impost, which rises 35.50 meters above the tambour, is about 54 meters from ...

The cathedral of Florence with its spectacular dome is together with the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi the best known attraction in the city of Florence. Florence Cathedral has dominated the city skyline for hundreds of years. The dome above it is a unique work and an absolute masterpiece of architecture of all time. The construction of the ...

A masterpiece of Tuscan Romanesque in Florence The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte rises on a hill to south-east of the historical center of Florence, near Piazzale Michelangelo, and is considered one of the finest examples of Florentine Romanesque style. Built between the eleventh and the thirteenth century, contains works of great value as the chapel of the Cardinal ...