History of Montisi
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Main sights of Montisi
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The Grange of Santa Maria della Scala was
once a
fortified farm and is now the most important monument in Montisi. It was
built in the 14 C and, was bought by
Jacopo Mannucci Benincasa, Secretary of
Peter Leopold, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. On 30 June 1944,
retreating German troops blew up the tower. Currently, the Grange is
a private home and a farmhouse. The building is constructed around
two main courtyards, separated by what was once an open loggia. In
the southern courtyard, there is a small 19 C theatre, the result of
recent, radical restoration work.
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Pieve of the Santissima Annunziata is the
parish church of Montisi. It was built
in the 13 C in Romanesque style, but it has undergone various restorations and alterations
over the centuries. In the 18 C, the church was restored in Baroque style by the Bishop of
Pienza, Septimius Cinughi. The last major intervention began in
mid-20 C, when the parish priest, Elio Benvenuti, expanded by building
with a new apse and the side chapel. The Romanesque
facade still retains its original style with two windows on the sides of the
portal. The interior, however, is in
Renaissance style and the nave is divided into four bays by three
sets of three arches supported by marble columns. The church has
many works of art such as the altarpiece, "Madonna enthroned with
Saints Paul, James, Peter and Louis" by Neroccio di Bartolomeo de'
Landi, and the "Crucifixion" painted in the mid-14 C.
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The church of Saints Flora and Lucilla, also
called "la Cura" because at one time ruled by a curate, is the
second most important church in the village. It was the first church
in the village to be built in the Middle Ages and hwas
completely restored in Baroque style in 1732 at the behest of the
Bishop of Pienza, Septimius Cinughi. The church, then home to several
fraternities, was enlarged in the mid-19 C, thanks to
funding by the family of Mannucci Benincasa: changes were made in the transept, the
new apse, the main altar, the sacristy and the bell tower, and the pipe organ located
in the cantoria was installed. The
interior has a nave with four altars along the walls and transept
formed by the chapels dedicated to the Sacred Heart (right chapel)
and to Our Lady of Lourdes (left chapel). In the chancel is the
altar, decorated with neo-Gothic paintings and large crucifix
donated in 1944. Behind it, in the apse, there is a French
harmonium. The church was left abandoned for about twenty years and
recently reopened. Now it is used every year for master classes in
harpsichord by the Piccola Accademia di Montisi.
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The Oratory of Saint Anthony of the Brotherhood of
Blessed Sacrament - the oratory of the Confraternity (compagnia) of the Blessed
Sacrament was built in the 15 C. The facade is simple with a
central Rose window. The interior, restored in Baroque style in 1616
and 1773, has a single nave with three bays. During meetings,
members of the brotherhood occupy benches along the side walls with
a simple balustrade painted wood. At the apse, the single altar
houses a painting of the "Last Supper" by Giovanni di Giovanni and
beneath, a processional statue of the "Dead Christ". The 15 C crypt, the sacristy and the meeting room are used
as a Museum of Sacred Art, with furnishings and objects from the
oratory and the church of Saints Flora and Lucilla. In the crypt,
located beneath the nave of the church, there is a fresco depicting
a Crucifixion by an unknown medieval artist. In the meeting room,
which is above the sacristy, some ancient missals, the
processional statue of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows and a banner
painted with the symbol of brotherhood are preserved.
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The Mannucci Benincasa Palace is located in the Piazza Contrada, on
Via Umberto I. It was built by the family of Mannucci Benincasa in the
18C as his palace and in the manner of a tower house.
It was later expanded in the 19 C: the porch in blocks
of tuffa, which was on the left, was incorporated in the building and
was also expanded from the part that faced the country with the
construction of the garden. The facade on Via Umberto I is
characterized by the great portal in solid wood doors with wrought
iron frame with carved leaves and marble ashlar. The lobby of the
building, long and low, is covered by a barrel vault with frescoes
lowered monochrome. In the stairwell, located down the hall and
characterised by a circular ramp, there is a family crest of Mannucci
Benincasa made of glazed and painted earthenware. On the occasion of the
Giostra di Simone and the Festa dell'Olio Novo, exhibitions of local handicrafts
ar hled in the hall.
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The Civic Tower and the "Colonna".
Along the slope that connects via Umberto I, the town's main street,
with the Castello's Contrada, there are two symbolic monuments of
the country: the Civic Tower and the "Colonna". The Civic Tower was
built in the nineteenth century and was renovated in winter 2007.
The building, visible from both the country and from dontorni for
his height, is partly covered with cream-colored plaster, even in
part with the stone walls (especially the corners). The tower is
characterized by two clock dials with Roman numerals and by the
metal structure, located on the top, that holds the bell that rings
every half-hour. The Colonna, however, despite its name, is a small
obelisk made of four overlapping blocks of stone. It was donated as
a vow to the Madonna in the second half of the nineteenth century;
in fact, within a small niche closed grate, there is a sacred effigy
of Mary. Despite being very close to each other, the two monuments
belong to two different districts: the Colonna is in Piazza's
Contrada but the Civic Tower is in Castello's Contrada.
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