San Raimondo, Siena
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San Raimondo, also called San Raimondo al Refugio, is a
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
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 located on the intersection of Via del Refugio and Via di Fiera Vecchia, in the Terzo of Camollia of the city 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 Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. 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 Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...
(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. 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. Flanking this is an ''Adoration of the Magi'' by Astolfo Petrazzi. The lateral altarpieces are the ''Circumcision of Jesus'' by Giovanni Battista Giustammiani, the ''Miracle of Resurrection by San Raimondo'' by Francesco Rustici. 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 are by Sebastiano Folli. 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. 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. 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.Enrico Torrini, (1907) pages 97-98.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raimondo Siena 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Raimondo Raimondo is an Italian given name. Its English equivalent is Raymond. Notable people with the name include: * Raimondo Boucheron (1800–1876), Italian composer, chiefly of sacred music * Raimondo D'Inzeo (1925–2013), Italian show jumping ride ...
Baroque architecture in Siena