Chiesa di San Pantaleo

The Church of San Pantaleo stands in the rural landscape near Vinci, in a hamlet connected with the family of Leonardo da Vinci's mother, Caterina. The simple church and adjoining oratory preserve a history that reaches back to the medieval period.

Why it matters

San Pantaleo is documented in a mid-thirteenth-century deed concerning the Guidi family's holdings in the Valdarno. Its later history is connected with Caterina, who lived at Campo Zeppi with Antonio Buti, known as l'Accattabriga. The church helps locate Leonardo's family history within the rural communities around Vinci.

What to notice

The church has a gabled façade with an oculus and a portico resting on two brick columns. A bell tower added in 1859 stands nearby. The small oratory of the Santo Nome di Gesù, built in 1690, forms part of the complex.

Context and history

The church served scattered farmsteads in the countryside. A medieval document transferred the church and its holdings from the Guidi family to Florence. Local historical research places Caterina's household at Campo Zeppi, giving San Pantaleo a place in the landscape associated with Leonardo's family.