Chiesa di Sant'Agostino

Sant'Agostino in San Gimignano combines a plain brick exterior with a choir frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli. The Stories of Saint Augustine give the Augustinian church one of its most distinctive artistic features.

Why it matters

The choir cycle connects the community's devotion to Augustine with fifteenth-century painting. Its commission reflects the relationship between the religious life of the friars and the patronage of a major narrative ensemble.

What to notice

Gozzoli's scenes extend across three walls behind the main altar. The single nave and its altars contain works from other periods, including painting by Bartolo di Fredi and Vincenzo Tamagni. The San Bartolo chapel combines Benedetto da Maiano's marble altar with a glazed floor associated with Andrea della Robbia.

Context and history

The Augustinian settlement developed in the late thirteenth century. Construction began in 1280 after approval by the bishop of Volterra, and the church was consecrated in 1298. The cloister expanded during the fifteenth century. Gozzoli painted the Augustine cycle in 1464–1465 for the commission associated with Fra Domenico Strambi, adding a Renaissance narrative to the earlier mendicant building.