San Niccolò al Carmine, also called Santa Maria del Carmine is a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church and monastery located in Pian dei Mantellini #30, near the corner of Via della Diana in the Terzo de Citta of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, region of Tuscany, Italy. The church now serves as the Oratory for the Contrada of Pantera. Across the street from the belltower is the Palazzo Celsi Pollini. North along Pian dei Mantellini, toward the Arco delle Due Porte, and on the same side of the street are a number of palaces built around what was once the Monastery of the Derelict Women: in order they are the Neoclassical Palazzo Incontri, the Palazzo Ravissa and the Palazzo Segardi.

History

Tradition holds that some hermits lived at the site in 770; the site then acquired an aedicule with the icon of the ''Mantellini''. A church and convent of the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

developed at the site and was documented since about 1265. At this time, the church was outside the walls of the medieval city, outside the Porta de Due Porte, also called the ''Gate of Stalloregi'' and the Arco di Santa Lucia. In the 14th-century, the convent was engrossed by the Walls of Siena. The church and bell-tower as we see it today was designed by

Baldassare Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and l ...

in 1517; work continued on the church until the 17th century. Later it became a military barrack. To the sides of the entry is an ''Anunciation'' by Dionisio Montorselli. A fresco in the second altar on the right depicts a 14th-century ''Assumption of the Virgin''. An ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' on the right was begun by Riccio, and completed by 1571 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 followe ...

, Another painting here is by

Stefano Volpi Stefano Volpi or Volpe (c. 1585–1642) was an Italian painter from the early Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painti ...

. A canvas depicts the ''Blessed Franco da Grotti'', painted 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 ...

; ''St Bartholomew'' in the Counterfacade altar is a masterwork (1604) by

Alessandro Casolani Alessandro Casolani (1552–1606), also called Alessandro della Torre, was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance period, active mainly in Siena. Casolani was born at Siena in 1552, and was the pupil of Ventura Salimbeni and of Cristoforo ...

. The ''Vision of St Teresa of Avila'', was painted by Giuseppe Colignon; an ''Ascent of Christ'' by Giacomo Pacchiarotti is on a sepulchral monument with relics of the blessed Giovanni Colombini. The ''St Michael defeats the Rebel Angels'' is a masterwork by Domenico Beccafumi in the altar near the lateral door. An altar on the right houses an ancient and revered icon of the Virgin, the ''Madonna dei Mantellini'' (circa 1240). The Byzantine style image had popular devotion as the focus for prayers for infants and newborns (who were swaddled in "Mantellini") and this gave name to the area and street. Around the painting are depictions of saints 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.

. The ''Chapel of the Holiest Sacrament'' at the right end of the nave, was once kept by the wool-workers. The marble altar was created by Lorenzo di Mariano and it has a ''Nativity of Mary'' by Sodoma. The Mannerist painter Girolamo del Pacchia also decorated this chapel in 1512. Next to the Main Altar is a canvas depicting the ''Blessed Franco'' by

and a ''St Teresa of Avila'' by

. The main altar with polychrome marble was designed by Tommaso Redi. The Sacristy (1512) was designed by Vannoccio Biringucci, and has a ''St Sigismondo'' in terra cotta by Giacomo Cozzarelli (1515). The cloister was completed in the 16th century and was frescoed by Giuseppe Nasini.Guida di Siena e dei suoi dintorni
Enrico Torrini, editor; Siena, (1907); page 77-78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Niccolo del Carmine, Siena Roman Catholic churches in Siena Renaissance architecture in Siena 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy