Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi

For centuries, Santa Maria dei Servi was Siena’s second Marian sanctuary. The Servites reached the city in 1250, and their basilica, built on the site of the former church of San Clemente, was consecrated in 1533 while work was still unfinished.

Why it matters

The hilltop church preserves an important chapter in Siena’s devotional and artistic history. Its interior was completed in 1537, while the fifteenth-century façade remains unfinished. Until the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano was built in 1611, Santa Maria dei Servi held the city’s second place among Marian sanctuaries.

What to notice

The basilica’s restrained exterior reflects the simplicity associated with the mendicant orders. Inside, its distinctive Egyptian-cross plan frames works devoted largely to the Virgin Mary. The most celebrated is the Madonna del Bordone, signed and dated 1261 by Coppo di Marcovaldo. Also notable are Bernardino Fungai’s Coronation of the Virgin and Giovanni di Paolo’s Madonna della Misericordia.

Context and history

The Servites first settled outside Siena before the Commune invited them to establish a church within the walls. Construction on the former San Clemente site proceeded over several centuries. A staircase was added in 1750, and the transept and other parts of the church were rebuilt in neo-Gothic style between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.