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Santa Maria a Sietina
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 © Photo: Andrea Barghi |
| Located in the plain, near
the right bank of the river Arno, Santa Maria a SiËtina
is the only parish church in Casentino in which frescoes
have survived. The view upon entering is suggestive. The floor is below ground level and the frescoes decorating the walls are very powerful. Mentioned as early as July 1022 with the name of Santa Maria Maddalena di Setrina, the church came under the control of the illustrious Bacci family of Arezzo in 1373. Inside, the pieve displays an unusual architectural structure with respect to the other parish churches found in the Casentino. It has three apses and a nave with aisles separated by four arcades set on rectangular pillars. The frescoes were painted in two different periods, one group in the Gothic period, the other during the Renaissance. Under the fresco of the Annunciation is an inscription with the date 1490 and the name of the commissioner. |
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