San Raimondo, also called San Raimondo al Refugio, is a Baroque style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church located on the intersection of Via del Refugio and Via di Fiera Vecchia, in the Terzo of Camollia of the city 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 centur ...

, region of

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 ...

. The church is dedicated to St Raymond of Pennafort.

History

The church was commissioned in 1596 in the will of the Sienese noble Aurelio Chigi. The church was adjacent to a conservatory for children of impoverished nobility (nobili decaduto) and thus known as ''di Refugio''. In 1798, an earthquake caused some damage. During the 19th-century it served as a school for young women, called the Royal Conservatorio Riuniti, because it was joined to the adjacent Conservatory of Mary Magdalen. In 1660, Pope Alexander VII (a Chigi) commissioned from Benedetto Giovannelli the design and construction of a new white marble façade. The church facade has the correct superimposition of orders in the pilaster capitals: with doric, ionic, and finally corinthian. The lateral to the volutes on the third story is the star-topped six mountains found in the heraldic coat of arms of the

Chigi Chigi may refer to: * Chigi (dog), a crossbreed between a Welsh Corgi and a chihuahua (dog) * House of Chigi, a Roman princely family * Chigi (architecture) , or are forked roof finials found in Japanese and Shinto architecture. predate Bu ...

. The tympanum has the papal coat of arms with the crossed keys, and a shield with the Chigi heraldry: two oaks and the afore-mentioned six-mountain symbols. The baroque interior decoration was completed by 1610 by Francesco Della Monna. The marble altars were designed by Flaminio Del Turco; with bronze bas reliefs and the sepulchral monument of Aurelio Chigi were completed by Ascanio da Cortona. The main altarpiece of the ''Nativity'' was painted by Alessandro Casolani, but completed in 1606 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.

. Flanking this is an ''Adoration of the Magi'' by

Astolfo Petrazzi Astolfo Petrazzi (1583–1665) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in his hometown of Siena, but also Spoleto and Rome. He was a pupil of mainly Francesco Vanni, but also worked under Ventura Salimbeni and Pietro Sorri. ...

. The lateral altarpieces are the ''Circumcision of Jesus'' by Giovanni Battista Giustammiani, the ''Miracle of Resurrection by San Raimondo'' 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 ...

. An altar on the right has a ''Marriage of St Catherine'' (1601) by Vanni; the side canvases also depicting events in the life 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 ...

are by

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 ...

. On the left is an altar with a ''Death of San Galgano'', a collaboration of Salimbeni and Vanni. It is flanked by a ''St Michael Archangel appears before San Galgano'' and ''Parents of San Galgano attempt to dissuade him from life as a hermit'' (both 1613) by

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 ...

. A ''Miracle of St Raymond walks on water'' is attributed to Stefano Volpe. The church in 2014 was adjacent to the offices of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the

University of Siena The University of Siena ( it, Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called ''Studium Senese'', the institution was founded in 1240 ...

. A few steps down the Via di Fiera Vecchia is the Palazzo San Galgano, in 2014, housing the Architecture faculty of the University. The facade of the Palazzo Galgano on Via Roma was designed (1474) by

Giuliano Da Maiano Giuliano da Maiano (1432–1490) was an Italian architect, intarsia-worker, and sculptor, the elder brother of Benedetto da Maiano, with whom he often collaborated. Biography He was born in the village of Maiano, near Fiesole, where his fathe ...

.Enrico Torrini, (1907) pages 97-98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raimondo Siena 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Raimondo Baroque architecture in Siena