Chiesa di San Biagio a Vignoni

The Romanesque church of San Biagio stands within the walled borgo of Vignoni Alto, above Bagno Vignoni. The church retains fresco traces dated to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and is part of the fortified settlement’s medieval fabric.

Why it matters

Vignoni Alto occupies the hill above the thermal village of Bagno Vignoni. The church stands beside one of the borgo’s historic gates, linking its religious history with the settlement’s defensive layout.

What to notice

The church has a single nave and a bell tower. Fresco fragments survive inside. The surrounding borgo retains a stretch of walls, an entrance gate and the remains of a former keep.

Context and history

The church is Romanesque in origin. The castle of Vignoni was held by Sant’Antimo Abbey in the eleventh century, then by the Tignosi and later Salimbeni families. A sixteenth-century baptismal font from the church is now in the Collegiata of San Quirico d’Orcia; a bronze crucifix modelled by Giambologna is in the Montalcino museum.