Photo: Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Chiesa di Santa Maria in Portico a Fontegiusta

Renaissance church in Siena near Porta Camollia, with Peruzzi's Sibyl and a small museum of the Compagnia, open by appointment.

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About the museum

The church of Santa Maria in Portico a Fontegiusta was built between 1479 and 1484 after the battle of Poggio Imperiale. The design is attributed to Cristoforo Fedeli of Como, who incorporated into the building a portico with a Marian image attributed to Lippo Vanni. It is one of the few examples of Renaissance architecture in Siena. It stands inside the walls near Porta Camollia, in the contrada of the Istrice (Porcupine).

The church has long been linked to the Venerabile Compagnia Laicale di Santa Maria in Portico in Fontegiusta, of medieval origin. Inside, among other things, is the Tiburtine Sibyl by Baldassarre Peruzzi, and tradition venerates the image of Mary “Mater Devotionis” (around 1360), set into the marble frame of the high altar.

The Compagnia runs a small museum attached to the church, with sculptures, furnishings, silverware, choir books, vestments and the so-called “Armi di Colombo” (Columbus's arms), which tradition links to a donation by the navigator, while recent studies date them to the second half of the sixteenth century.

Highlights

Tiburtine Sibyl by Baldassarre Peruzzi
Renaissance architecture by Cristoforo Fedeli of Como
Bronze ciborium attributed to Il Vecchietta
Stucco Pietà by Francesco di Giorgio Martini
The so-called “Armi di Colombo” (Columbus's arms)