The chiesa di Sant'Agostino (Church of

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

) is the second largest

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

San Gimignano San Gimignano () is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of ...

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 ...

, after the Collegiata. It is owned by the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

. Sant'Agostino is an imposing 13th century building. The interior is a large hall dominated by the seventeen-panel

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

cycle on ''The Life of St Augustine'' around the high altar, painted by

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions wi ...

between 1463 and 1467. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting o ...

is the ''

Coronation of the Virgin The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God th ...

'' by

Piero del Pollaiuolo Piero del Pollaiuolo ( , , ; also spelled Pollaiolo; in Florence – 1496 in Rome), also known as Piero Benci, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. His brother was the artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo and the two frequently worked ...

(1483). There are a number of other frescoes in the church. The ''Cappella di San Bartolo'' houses the remains of the eponymous

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

(1228–1300), a lay

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

who died of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

. The magnificent altar in the chapel is 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 r ...

External links

Benozzo Gozzoli: A Gallery of Frescoes
{{Coord, 43, 28, 14.53, N, 11, 02, 30.14, E, source:itwiki_region:IT_type:landmark, display=title 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches in San Gimignano Monasteries in Tuscany