Collegiata di San Gimignano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Collegiata is the main church of San Gimignano, Tuscany, situated in the Piazza del Duomo at the town's heart. It was once the Duomo (cathedral), but since San Gimignano no longer has a bishop it has reverted to the status of a collegiate church.
The first church on the site was begun in the 10th century. The present building was begun in the early 12th century and was consecrated by Pope Eugene III in 1148. It was altered and enlarged by Giuliano da Maiano between 1466 and 1468. The façade dates from 1239 and is remarkably plain.
The Romanesque interior is famous for its lavish frescoes, which almost entirely cover the walls. The arcades are of black and white striped marble. In the centre is a large fresco of St Sebastian by Benozzo Gozzoli (1465), commissioned after the plague had hit the town in 1464. A fresco cycle by Taddeo di Bartolo depicts the Last Judgement in gruesome detail. There are also cycles of the Old Testament by Bartolo di Fredi (1356–1367) and the New Testament, traditionally attributed to Barna da Siena (who supposedly died in a fall from the scaffolding while painting them), but possibly by Lippo Memmi (begun in 1333).
The two main chapels are the Cappella di San Gimignano, with an altar by Benedetto da Maiano, and the Cappella di Santa Fina, designed by Giuliano da Maiano, with the sculpture by his brother Benedetto. Domenico Ghirlandaio painted the frescoes in the latter chapel. St Fina was born in San Gimignano in 1238, contracted an incurable disease when she was ten and spent the five years until her death lying on a board to increase her suffering before God. On her death the board was covered in flowers. The house where she supposedly lived and died still stands in the town.
