Raccolta d'Arte Sacra di San Biagio a Scrofiano Sinalunga

ORARI DI APERTURA E VISITA:
OPENING HOURS
Only on request
The three rooms adjacent the Cathedral sacristy make up the Sacred Art Rooms .They have been created, thanks to the commitment of the actual parish priest, Reverend Mauro Franci. The church liturgical canonicals and decorations have been placed in these rooms to testify the particular and unusual richness of these pieces, that have been accumulated throughout the years in the Cathedral and that partially come from the suppressed Monastery of the Servants of Mary, abolished during the time of Pietro Leopoldo. In the first room, the liturgical canonicals and decorations are exhibited. Some of them are quite prominent. Among them a bicoloured damask chasuble , green and yellow, with minute vegetable motifs, tentatively dated early 17th century. A lectern covering follows the same bicoloured technique, and it probably belongs to the same period of the chasuble. A chalice veil covering results to be of a much higher quality. It has floral motifs with a red satin weave and polychromous warp and woof with exotic motifs. This fabric ( an ancient brocade liseré type) probably dates back to the second half of the 17th century. Next to this chalice covering, as of tradition, there’s a red chasuble, also dated late 17th century or early 18th century. It’s decorated with a large flower pattern set on an undulated rhythm. An ivory coloured chasuble, dated between 1710 and 1715, is decorated with a singular motif called “bizarre”, that is the transformation of natural elements in almost abstract shapes. Whereas another yellow chasuble with the same decorative motifs, probably dates back to 1725 – 1730. A chasuble, dated middle 18th century, with a red background, with large floral elements and vases, is characterized by decorations that are inspired by a more pronounced naturalism. Another red chasuble shows an evolution towards a more detailed representation of vegetable elements. There’s also a white chasuble with vegetable motifs in a more detailed maze, that has been realized between 1770 and 1780.The regularization of the floral maze present in another chasuble, where an elegant motif with small flowers stands out, takes us back to its realization in the later part of the 18th century. While these canonicals could represent the most important textile works preserved in the Art room of the Cathedral of Scrofiano, in the second room there are the metal and wood decorations that create, according to the most popular lexicon, the “treasure” of this church. Among these handmade articles, the most venerated is without any doubt, is the Reliquary that hosts Saint Biagio’s finger, made of embossed silver, executed by a Sienese silversmith. A silver incense box, shaped as a small ship, is also quite remarkable. On a side is engraved a long dedicating inscription and the date 1643. This article was also executed by a Sienese artist, probably the silversmith Dioniso Bartalesi. A stationary silver cross with a triangular base, of good manufacture and with the ends of the transversal arm finely chiselled , is dated 1665 and can be attributed to Michelangelo Recchi. The same type of manufacturing is also found in a silver astile cross dated late 1600s, and probably executed by a Sienese artisan. An incense burner with a Sienese puncheon was donated, in 1678, by the parish priest Ignazio Bartalini to the Cathedral. In 1686, he also donated a silver pyx. A silver chalice, dated late 17th century, with a so called “pear like” knot and with angel head motifs on the cup, the shaft and on the base has a puncheon with a she wolf that identifies it as being of Sienese manufacture. Ten other chalices testify the abundance of the production of this type of ornament during the 17th century. A small silver pail ,dated 1694, also reveals its Sienese origin. Three altar cards, richly decorated ( the main one shows on the top part the almost full figure of the appointed Saint) have a puncheon with the Sienese she wolf and they can be dated early 18th century. Four reliquary monstrances, one of them dated 1758, whereas two of them 1766, could be attributed to the Sienese silversmith Giacomo Bonechi. The rich and elegant volute and shell like ( rocailles ) decoration is quite remarkable. A chalice with a code of arms, finely executed and a reliquary monstrance, that shows on the summit the monogram of the Order of the Servants of Mary, that testify its origin from the homonymous monastery, are both dated around 1730. They have been attributed to the Sienese Mensini brothers . The three altar cards, silver plated and made of gilded, carved wood, characterized by large volutes and by the transparency effect of the red velvet background through the gaps of the ornaments are dated 1757. Among the many carved and gilded wooden articles exhibited in the cases, two containers for the Holy Sacrament are quite remarkable. They’ve been executed in a rich and theatrical manner with a sunburst pattern and a dais; one is dated 1774 and the other 1838. Many paintings are located in this room, but the most important is without any doubt, a Madonna with Child on a panel, that reveals an execution, similar to that of Duccio di Buoninsegna, a venerated medieval painting relic of the Sienese figurative culture, that has left in this area an unmistakable trace , thanks to the large abundance of evidence. In the third room, ancient volumes, property of the Cathedral and of the Parish Archives have been suitably categorized.