The Church
The church of San Biagio is set in the characteristic old centre of Montecatini Val di Cecina, a village marked by copper mines, which had been representing local economy since the Etruscan age, till the early 20th century, when production activities were closed down.
It was built in the 14th century and then radically transformed in the 19th. In the 16th century, a portal was opened on the right side wall (and not the main elevation) of the religious building, looking onto the main square. The bell tower, built in brickwork on a corner of the façade, dates from the mid-15th century.
The internal space is marked into three naves and hosts a few important works of art.
Description »
The church of San Biagio rises in an urban site, which certainly influenced the evolution of its layout. Indeed, its ichnography presents the unification of different volumes added in subsequent ages.
The original medieval building has left a few, yet significant traces in the external wall face of the edifice, constructed in small-sized stone ashlars placed in horizontal courses onto thick mortar layers.
Opened in the 16th century on the side wall of the church, the main portal is surmounted by a lunette with a depressed arch.
The liturgical area, covered by a plain gable roof, is marked into three naves by two rows of columns. Capitals are decorated with acanthus leaves.
The bell tower was built in the 15th century; set on a corner of the façade, it completely changed the 14th-century appearance of the structure.
History »
Documentary information regarding the church of San Biagio are relatively late. In 1339, following Giacomello Boninsegna’s legacy in favour of the church, for its enlargement, the edifice was reconstructed under the direction of workers Ugolino Guiducci and Ciullo Barletti. A three-nave plan was built, overlooking the main street.
In the second half of the 15th century, a bell tower was built on the right corner of the façade.
By 1507, a parsonage was built adjacent to the church, using the façade as a wall for the new construction. A new access portal was then opened on the side wall.
In 1574 the church was adjusted to the new liturgical requirements of the Counter-Reformation and raised for the first time to the title of pieve.
Between the 19th and the 20th centuries, the church assumed its present appearance, losing almost totally its medieval internal and external features.
Works »
Traces of frescoes by an artist from Siena, of mid-15th century, are still visible on the choir walls.
On the left of the choir is a noteworthy Gloria con San Biagio, San Sebastiano e un cenacolo con angeli, attribuita al Pomarancio and, on the right, a painting on wood by the Florentine artist Neri di Bicci, featuring Il Martirio di San Sebastiano con i Santi Biagio e Antonio Abate, datable from the last quarter of the 15th century.
At the presbytery sides, on top of the columns, two marble figures of uncertain school (maybe Mino da Fiesole’s) are commonly called ‘cechini portaceri’ because of their function as candle-holders.
The central wall hosts two statues featuring San Biagio, by Andrea della Robbia, and San Sebastiano, attributed to the master’s workshop.
Restorations »
In 1852, the Municipality of Montecatini commissioned the architect from Volterra Aristodemo Solaini to build a wider edifice. The Sloane mining company was willing to give its economic support for the expenditure. Despite of that, the Municipality set the project aside; only in 1874 was the external structure restored and the interiors enriched. Around 1925, further restoration works were performed, with embellishments in neo-medieval style: the vaults of the side chapels were demolished, like the thatched roof of the nave; the external façade was renovated, the walls plastered and the choir ceiling frescoed.
Bibliography »
L. Lagorio, Dizionario di Volterra, Pisa, Pacini, 1997.
Volterra e la Valdicecina, a cura di F. Lessi, Milano, Mondadori, 1999, pp.82-83.
Montecatini Val di Cecina. Arte e storia, a cura di A. Falorni, M. Bocci, N. Lepri, A. Palesati, Pomarance 2003.
Location
