The Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana, is a basilica church in

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 centur ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

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 ...

, one of the most important in the city.

Overview

The church was begun in 1226–1265, but was enlarged in the 14th century resulting in the Gothic appearance it has now. However, aspects of the Gothic structure were subsequently destroyed by fires in 1443, 1456 and 1531, and further damage later resulted from military occupation (1548–1552). It is a large edifice built, like many contemporary edifices of the mendicant orders, in bricks, with a lofty bell tower on the left (this was reduced in height after an earthquake in 1798). The interior is on the Egyptian cross plan with a huge

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

covered by

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

es and with a

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

featuring high chapels. The church contains several relics of

St. Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

, whose family house is nearby.

Interior

Cappella delle Volte

This is an old oratory of the Dominican nuns, connected to numerous episode of sanctity of

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

's life. It houses the ''Canonization of St. Catherine'' by

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

, flanked by two 1602 paintings by Crescenzio Gambarelli. Other works by the latter are also present. The main wall has a portrait of St. Catherine.

Left wall of the nave

The left wall of the nave has a ''Madonna with Child'' by Francesco di Vannuccio, framed by an ''Eternal with Saint'' by

Il Sodoma Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of ...

and by a

predella In art a predella (plural predelle) is the lowest part of an altarpiece, sometimes forming a platform or step, and the painting or sculpture along it, at the bottom of an altarpiece, sometimes with a single much larger main scene above, but oft ...

with fifteen ''Stories of the New Testament'' by Antonio Magagna.

Rutilio Manetti Rutilio di Lorenzo Manetti (c. 1571 – 22 July 1639) was an Italian painter of late- Mannerism or proto- Baroque, active mainly in Siena. Biography He was influenced and/or taught by the local artists Francesco Vanni and Ventura Salimbeni. He is ...

painted a ''St. Anthony Abbot's Exorcism'',

Sebastiano Folli Sebastiano Folli (1568–1621) was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance period. He was a scholar of Alessandro Casolano, and a native of Siena. He distinguished himself by several frescoes in the churches at Siena, particularly the cupola ...

a ''St. Catherine of Alexandria'' and

Francesco Vanni Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena.

a ''St. Hyacinth Saving a Statue of the Madonna from a Fire''.

Right wall of the nave

The altars on the right side are decorated by an ''Appearance of the Virgin'' by Stefano Volpi (1630), a ''Nativity of the Virgin'' by Alessandro Casolani (1585) and a reliquary of St. Catherine's relics. They are followed by the St. Catherine Chapel, with, in the centre, an altar housing the saint's head and thumb.

provided a ''Fainting and Ecstasy of St. Catherine'' and ''Death of Niccolò di Tuldo'' for the chapel, while by

Francesco Vanni Francesco Vanni (1563 – 26 October 1610) was an Italian painter, draughtsman, printmaker, publisher and printer active in Rome and his native city of Siena.

is a ''St. Catherine's Exorcism'' (1593–1596). The 15th-century marble pavement, featuring Orpheus and animals, is attributed to

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 ...

. The right wall has a fresco by

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between c. 1306 and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio, he introduced naturalism into Sienese art. In their artistry and experiments with three-dimen ...

and the ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' by

, completed by a lunette by

Matteo di Giovanni Matteo di Giovanni (c. 1430 – 1495) was an Italian Renaissance artist from the Sienese School. Biography Matteo di Giovanni di Bartolo was born in Borgo Sansepolcro around 1430. His family relocated to Siena and he is firmly associated with ...

and a predella by

Bernardino Fungai Bernardino Fungai (1460– c. 1516) was an Italian painter whose work marks the transition from late Gothic painting to the early Renaissance in the Sienese school.

Transept

On the right transept is altar dedicated to Blessed Ambrogio Sansedoni, also portrayed in a canvas by

Francesco Rustici Francesco Rustici, called Il Rustichino (Siena, 1592 – Siena, 1626) was an Italian painter active in Siena. He worked on commissions for the local churches as well as from the Grand-Dukes of Tuscany. In his work he shows a preference for noc ...

(1611–12). Notable amongst the chapels are the second, entitled to the martyrs of the German Nation, and the third, which includes a ''Madonna with Child and the Saint Jerome and John the Baptist'' by

. The fourth chapel has a Baroque canvas by

Raffaello Vanni Raffaello Vanni (1590 ca-1673) was an Italian painter of the Baroque. Biography He was born at Siena. He first trained with his father, Francesco Vanni, who died in 1610. He was afterwards sent to Rome, and recommended to the care of Antonio C ...

(1649) and a ''St. Anthony the Abbot'' from 1426. The ''Majesty'' by

Guido da Siena Guido of Siena, was an Italian painter, active during the 13th-century in Siena, and painting in an Italo-Byzantine style. Biography The name Guido is known from the large panel in the church of San Domenico, Siena of th''Virgin and Child Enth ...

(dated to 1221, but probably from 1265 to 1270 with additions by a

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ) was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religious buildings around Italy. Ducc ...

's follower) is in the centre of the fifth chapel, where are also works by

Benvenuto di Giovanni Benvenuto di Giovanni, also known as Benvenuto di Giovanni di Meo del Guasta (13 September 1436 – c. 1518) was an Italian painter and artist known for his choral miniatures, pavement designs, and frescoes. Working chiefly in Siena, he was first ...

and two frescoes by

Giuseppe Nicola 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 Frances ...

. The left transept ends with the altar of St. Dominic.

Other

The altar has a ciborium with two angels by

Benedetto da Maiano Benedetto da Maiano (1442 – May 24, 1497) was an Italian Early Renaissance sculptor. Biography Born in the village of Maiano (now part of Fiesole), he started his career as companion of his brother, the architect Giuliano da Maiano. When he ...

(1475–1480), while in the apse is a ''Death of St. Peter Martyr'' by

Arcangelo Salimbeni Arcangelo Salimbeni (circa 1536 –1579) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance period active in his native Siena, Italy. He was the father of the painter Ventura Salimbeni, stepfather of Francesco Vanni, and son of Leonardo. He was a follower ...

(1579) and ''St. Thomas and the Pope'' by Galgano Perpignani. The crypt, in Gothic style, can also be visited. It houses a crucifix by

Sano di Pietro Sano di Pietro or Ansano di Pietro di Mencio (1405–1481) was an Italian painter of the Sienese school of painting. He was active for about half a century during the Quattrocento period, and his contemporaries included Giovanni di Paolo and S ...

and a ''Crucifixion'' signed by

Ventura Salimbeni Ventura di Archangelo Salimbeni (also later called Bevilacqua; 20 January 1568 – 1613) was an Italian Counter-Maniera painter and printmaker highly influenced by the ''vaghezza'' and sensual reform of Federico Barocci. Biography Salimb ...

(1600).

External links

* {{Authority control Churches completed in 1265 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Gothic architecture in Siena

Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian archit ...

13th-century establishments in the Republic of Siena