The Oratory of Sant'Antonio da Padova (St Anthony of Padua) is a small church on Via Tommaso Pendola (formerly Via delle Murella) 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 ...

, Italy. The oratory is property of the "Ward of the Turtle" or Contrada della Tartuca, and now commonly called Sant'Antonio alle Murella.

also has a separate church of

Sant'Antonio da Padova Sant'Antonio, Italian for Saint Anthony, most often refers to places named after Saint Anthony of Padua or Sant'Antonio Abate: People Places Switzerland *Sant'Antonio, Bellinzona, municipality in canton of Ticino * Sant'Antonio (Poschiavo), ci ...

located elsewhere in the city in the Contrada della Civetta. In the second half of the 17th century, inhabitants of this neighborhood, many of them sculptors and masons acquired property from the brothers of the

Augustinian Order Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

. Using a Baroque design by Jacomo Franchini. Construction began in 1682 and the church was completed in 1685; while Giovanni Antonio Mazzuoli completed the interior sculptural decoration and the main altar with a bas-relief of ''Apparition of the Virgin to St Anthony of Padua''. The bell tower was reconstructed in 1800. The cupola is decorated with murals depicting St Anthony in Glory by

Vincenzo Dei Vincenzo is an Italian male given name, derived from the Latin name Vincentius (the verb ''vincere'' means to win or to conquer). Notable people with the name include: Art *Vincenzo Amato (born 1966), Italian actor and sculptor * Vincenzo Bell ...

. The lateral altars were built in the late 1700s by the local sculptor Gaspero Fineschi and decorated by the stucco artist Bernardino Cremoni. The interior includes four oval paintings by members of the Mazzuoli and Nasini family: * ''St Jerome and the Angel'' (1685) attributed to

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 ...

(1685). * ''St Ansano baptizes first Christians of Siena'' (1686-1689) by Annibale Mazzuoli. * ''Martyrdom of St Bartholemew'' (1686) 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 ...

. * ''St Sebastian healed by St Irene'' (1686) by Annibale Mazzuoli. The main altarpiece depicts the legendary miracle when ''St Anthony of Padua restores an amputated leg'' (''Guarigione della gamba staccata''). The miracle is also depicted on the floor in the work in inlaid marble mosaics (1891) by Leopoldo Maccari. Also present in the church are a ''St Anthony preaches to Fishes'' (1697), by Annibale Mazzuoli; a stucco bas-relief or the ''Virgin offers her baby Jesus to St Antonio'', by Giovanni Antonio Mazzuoli (1685); a wooden altarpiece with ''Scenes in the Life of St Anthony'', by

Antonio Manetti Antonio di Tuccio Manetti (6 July 1423 – May 26, 1497) was an Italian mathematician and architect from Florence. He is particularly noted for his investigations into the site, shape and size of Dante's ''Inferno''. Although Manetti never hims ...

and Angelo Barbetti (1831-1832); a ''Madonna and Child'', by Francesco Mazzuoli (1836).

Sources

Official website of Cantrade della Tartuca
* Translated from Italian Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Oratory Antonio Siena Roman Catholic churches in Siena 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Siena Roman Catholic churches completed in 1685 1685 establishments in Italy