The Basilica dell'Osservanza is a church on the outskirts of

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

, region of Tuscany,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

History

A hermitage is known at the site since 1192, and in 104 was donated to San Bernardino of Siena, who began construction of a church around 1420, consecrated in 1451 by the Archbishop Niccolo Piccolomini, and completed around 1490, probably designed by

Francesco di Giorgio Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was an Italian architect, engineer, painter, sculptor, and writer. As a painter, he belonged to the Sienese School. He was considered a visionary architectural theorist—in Nikolaus Pevsner's terms ...

(Cecco di Giorgio). Further expansion of the church was commissioned between 1495 and 1496 by

Pandolfo Petrucci Pandolfo Petrucci (14 February 1452 – 21 May 1512) was a ruler of the Italian Republic of Siena during the Renaissance. Biography Born and raised in Siena, a member of an aristocratic family, Petrucci was exiled from his home in 1483 for bei ...

Contents in the 19th century

An inventory in 1840 recalls organ doors painted by Lorenzo Feliciati. The first chapel on the right had wall frescoes by

Apollonio Nasini Giuseppe Nicola Nasini (January 25, 1657– July 3, 1736) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active in Rome and Tuscany. Biography Born in Castel del Piano, now in the Province of Grosseto, Giuseppe was the son of the painter Franc ...

, the second chapel, had frescoes by his uncle Tommaso. The main altar had terra-cotta statues sculpted by Gioco di Gambassi. Other sculptures by Giuseppe Mazzuoli the Younger. A crucifix painted by Riccio. Four canvases were painted by Franellini, and the pilasters had terra cotta reliefs by Della Robbia depicting an ''Annunciation''. In the choir were paintings by Pietro di Giovanni and Ansano di Pietro. The first chapel on the left had a painting of ''Santa Petronilla'' (1413) by

Taddeo Bartoli Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1363 – 26 August 1422), also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's biographies of artists or ''Le Vite dell ...

; a ''Santa Filomena'' by Boschi, and frescoes by Franchini. Another chapel had a ''San Bernardino'' by Montorselli, with frescoes by

Antonio Nasini Francesco Nasini (Piancastagnaio, either 1611 or 1621– Castel del Piano, 1695) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in towns outside of Siena, Italy. Francesco was the progenitor of a pedigree of painters. He had a broth ...

. The third chapel had an altarpiece by Luca Della Robbia. In the sacristy were works by Cozzarelli and the tomb of

. The walls had paintings by

Margaritone d'Arezzo Margarito, Margaritone da Arezzo, or Margaritone d'Arezzo (''fl. c.'' 1250–1290) was an Italian painter from Arezzo in Tuscany. Margaritone's given name was Margarito, but it was transcribed erroneously by Vasari as "Margaritone". It is by ...

Stefano di Giovanni ''For the village near Livorno, see Sassetta, Tuscany'' Stefano di Giovanni di Consolo, known as il Sassetta (ca.1392–1450 or 1451) was an Tuscan painter of the Renaissance, and a significant figure of the Sienese School.Judy Metro, ''Italia ...

, Alessandro Casolani, and Ramacciotti. An elaborate urn (1472) by

Francesco d'Antonio Francesco d'Antonio or d'Antonio di Bartolomeo (born 1393, active until 1452) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance, mainly active in Florence. He is likely the same ''Francesco Fiorentino'' that Giorgio Vasari in his biographies states was a ...

contained the vestments of San Bernardino. The adjacent convent's design was attributed to

Peruzzi The Peruzzi were bankers of Florence, among the leading families of the city in the 14th century, before the rise to prominence of the Medici. Their modest antecedents stretched back to the mid 11th century, according to the family's genealogist ...

, and was said to have housed both

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

(1459) and

Pius VI Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799. Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...

(1798) during visits to Siena. The former cells of San Bernardino and San Giovanni di Capistrano were found here. The refectory had a ''Last Supper'' painted by Prete Franci.Cenni storico-artistici di Siena e suoi suburbii
by Ettore Romagnoli, (1840) page 72-73.

References

Osservanza 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1496 Renaissance architecture in Tuscany 15th-century establishments in the Republic of Siena {{Italy-RC-church-stub