Pieve di Sant'Ansano

The Pieve di Sant'Ansano near Vinci is a Romanesque parish church documented in 998 and associated with Leonardo da Vinci's landscape.

Why it matters

The pieve served the countryside around Vinci long before the town became known for Leonardo. Its early documentary record and the remains of its Romanesque fabric connect local religious history with the settlement of the Montalbano slopes.

What to notice

The north flank preserves twelfth-century grey sandstone masonry and a round-arched side doorway. Three naves are divided by round arches with decorated capitals. The church contains a fourteenth-century panel of Sant'Ansano attributed to Puccio di Simone, a painting by Rutilio Manetti, a marble ciborium and a baptismal font attributed to Baccio da Montelupo.

Context and history

The church is recorded in an imperial diploma of Otto III in 998. Originally known as the pieve of Greti and dedicated to San Giovanni Battista, it later took the name Sant'Ansano. It passed through the control of the Guidi counts and the Certosa del Galluzzo. The portico and bell tower were destroyed in 1944. Structural concerns led to closure in 2012; consolidation work preceded its reopening in 2018.