Chiesa di San Giorgio (Siena)

San Giorgio in Siena combines a medieval foundation and bell tower with an eighteenth-century church interior. Its history links civic memory of the battle of Montaperti with later Zondadari patronage.

Why it matters

Tradition associates rebuilding after the victory of 1260 with thanksgiving to Saint George. The church later acquired a different institutional role through the Congregazione dei Sacri Chiodi and the archbishops' seminary.

What to notice

The tall brick bell tower contrasts with the travertine facade and single-nave interior. The later facade carries the Zondadari arms. Paintings include works by Francesco and Raffaello Vanni and Sebastiano Conca's Saint George and the Dragon. Funerary monuments add another dimension to the church's history of artistic commemoration.

Context and history

A church is documented here in 1081. The Congregazione dei Sacri Chiodi, founded by Matteo Guerra, became associated with it in 1586; the seminary acquired the church after the congregation's suppression in 1666. Cardinal Anton Felice Zondadari supported rebuilding from 1723. Consecration in 1731 preceded further facade work during the later 1730s.