Chiesa della Magione

First recorded in 998, the Church of la Magione stands on Via Camollia, near Siena's northern approach. Its Romanesque stone fabric, Templar associations and surviving fresco fragments connect the church with the city's history as a stop on the Via Francigena.

Why it matters

By a deed of 1148, the Templars were entrusted with the church and a nearby compound that included a hospice for travellers. The name Magione is associated with the maison or mansio, a staging place for those journeying along the road. After the Templars' suppression, the property passed to the Hospitallers, later known as the Knights of Malta.

What to notice

The modest gabled façade is Romanesque, with a later Gothic portal and a bell-gable. Incised crosses and other marks on the masonry are traditionally associated with the Templars. The church has a single nave, raised presbytery and exposed wooden trusses. Inside are fragments of monochrome frescoes by Cristoforo di Bindoccio and Meo di Pero, a late-fourteenth-century niche for the holy oils and a 1760 painting by Diego Pesco. The brick chapel on the right, built as a plague ex-voto in 1523–26, is associated with the Contrada dell'Istrice.

Context and history

The church stood outside Siena's walls when first recorded in 998. The Hospitaller period brought funerary monuments and an interior loggia. The adjacent oratory was built in 1526 and later served as an early seat of the Istrice contrada. A 1957 restoration returned the interior to a simpler appearance.