Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie

The Church of the Madonna delle Grazie is a small stone oratory by Porta Burelli in Montalcino. Its wall paintings connect a modest religious building with the Sienese artistic tradition of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Why it matters

The oratory is documented from the fourteenth century in connection with indulgences granted by the abbot of Sant'Antimo. Its history places local devotion within a wider religious relationship between the town and the abbey.

What to notice

The rectangular hall and bell gable provide a simple architectural setting. A fresco attributed to Bartolo di Fredi depicts Christ with the Virgin, John the Baptist and angels carrying instruments of the Passion. A later Madonna and Child with angels and saints represents a different phase of Sienese painting.

Context and history

The building's position near a city gate links it with the medieval town's religious landscape. The painting associated with Bartolo di Fredi is dated to the 1380s, while the other fresco belongs to the early sixteenth century. Their survival gives the oratory a history extending across more than one artistic generation.