
The church of Santa Maria Assunta in Staggia Senese
Paintings by 15th century masters like Antonio del Pollaiolo and works by exponents of Sienese painting are all on show in this church
The church of Santa Maria Assunta in Staggia Senese, in the commune of Poggibonsi, is a building with Romanesque origins that was heavily restored at the start of the 20th century.
The church houses a collection of sacred art. Among the conserved works of art are: the Maddalena comunicata dagli Angeli by Antonio del Pollaiolo (painted in the 1560s), the 15th century Adorazione dei Magi by Francesco Botticini, a Madonna col Bambino from the Siena area (mid 14th century), a precious gothic ostensory of guilded copper (second half of the 14th century), a Visitazione by Giovanni Maria Butteri (1574), and a Cristo in Pietà by Arcangelo Salimbeni (1579).
The collection provides a condensed history of the strategically important Staggia Castle which was constantly fought over by the Sienese and the Florentines. For this reason, between the 14th and 16th centuries, important works of art were commissioned for the Staggia church in both Florence and Siena.