Chiesa di Santa Maria di Provenzano, Siena

A mysterious apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared in the house called Chiesa di Santa Maria di Provenzano and it became a church soon after. It is one of the oldest residences in Siena. The Chiesa di Santa Maria di Provenzano is a mannerist building constructed after the conquest of the city by the Medici family. It belonged to a Sienese military captain called Provenzano Salvani who played a major role in the victory of the city during the Battle of Montaperti.

Saint Catherine of Siena placed a terracotta statue of the Pieta, or Madonna, with the dying Christ in her arms on the façade after the apparition of Virgin Mary was witnessed in the house. In 1552, a Spanish soldier tried to destroy the statue by firing at it. His weapon misfired and killed him instead and only the arms of the statue were damaged. The event was regarded by the locals as a miracle. The basilica was consecrated in 1611 and the damaged statue was placed on the high altar.

The interior of the church has the plan of a Latin cross. It has a single nave and an octagonal dome. The altar that houses the terracotta Pieta was made between 1617 and 1631. Notable works of art inside the church are “The Mass of Saint Cerbone” by Rutilio Manetti and Dionysio Montorselli’s “The Vision of Saint Catherine of the Martyrdom of San Lorenzo.”