Dante’s Epigraph 14. Arnolfo’s Tower 15. Santa Maria in Canonica

27. Bacìo park

Under the Bastion of Sapia there is a pathway which leads to Bacìo park. Due to the park’s suggestive scenery on June 15, 2019 the celebration of the 750th anniversary of the Battle of Colle was held there. This battle took place between the 16th and the 17th of June 1269 between the Sienese Ghibelline army and the Florentine Guelph army- The Guelphs had managed with only 1,100 troops to cunningly defeat a Ghibelline army of not less than 9,400 men. This defeat of the Ghibellines happened under the eyes of Sapia Salvani from the bastion. Palazzo Campana is a historic building which is considered one of the most evocative corners of Colle di Val d’Elsa called level data. Overlooking the bridge of the same name it is a fine example of 16th century Tuscan mannerist architecture. It was built on a project by Giuliano di Baccio d’Agnolo, as reported by Vasari in 1536 and is partially unfinished. The façade has two floors, with a grandiose Renaissance arch flanked by four large windows. The facade is partly in sandstone and partly in stucco, which stand out with the colours of the sunset. The arch of the palace leads to Via di Castello which is the main street of the historical center and it is flanked by numerous patrician buildings that represented the civil power of Colle.

28. Palazzo Campana

Borgo di Santa Caterina

The Church of Santa Caterina The Oratory of the Company of the Cross Baios Square Torrione The Access The Convent of S.Francis Porta Nuova Palazzo San Lorenzo San Pietro Museum Il Palazzone

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29. The Church of Santa Caterina

The Church of Santa Caterina of Alexandria is recorded in historical documents since the 13th century. It was renovated during the 16th century. The actual building has a nineteenth century structure due to further restorations that have eliminated a substantial part of medieval framework. However, it is possible to find traces of the original gate with an architrave made of sandstone on the lateral wall of the church. The church presents a gabled façade with two lateral pilasters and a mixed stone and brick finish. In the center there is a stone architrave door which ends with a triangular tympanum,while higher up there is a semicircular window. The interior is a rectangular hall with cross vaults; the presbytery area, separated by three arches is slightly raised and is preceded by an entablature supported by two very impressive Tuscan columns. On the walls there are seventeenth century frescoes with saints and, behind the altar a stained glass window with Saint Caterina and her attributes made by the Ghirlandaio apprentices the Ghirlandaio school.

Saint Catherine of Alexandria

There is no certain information about her life and death. Besides her uncertain date of birth (in the 4th century AD), we know that Catherine was a beautiful young Egyptian, daughter of King Costa, who left her orphan at a very young age. Many proposed to her but the vision of La Madonna col Bambino putting a ring at her finger convinced her to become “Christ’s Bride”. Catherine is traditionally described as an educated woman able to convert to Christianity a group of rhetoricians sent by the emperor, who probably is Massimo Daia, to have her honor the pagan gods. When she refused even the emperor’s proposal, Catherine was condemned by to death. The Saint was sentenced to die on a cogwheel that broke (attribute of the Saint together with the book, the palm and the sword) and was then beheaded and, instead of blood, it is said that milk gushed out as a symbol of her purity. Today she is the patron Saint of theologians, philosophers, students of the university of Siena, of seamstresses, of craftsmen and in general of the trades that have to do with the wheel, for example potters and wool makers.

30. The Oratory Of The Company Of The Cross

Next to the Church of Saint Catherine is the Oratory of the Company of the Cross. Here we can admire the ‘Compianto sul Cristo Morto’ (Lamentation over the dead Christ), a sculptural group in polychrome terracotta made by Zaccaria Zacchi - sculptor, engineer and painter from Volterra of the first half of the 16th century. The artist worked in Volterra, Rome, Florence and Bologna and was perhaps a collaborator of Baccio da Montelupo. This work transmits with great emotion the last moments of Christ’s passion.

The subject is taken from the canonical and apocryphal gospels and more precisely it is the scene that is chronologically between the Crucifixion of Christ on the cross and his resurrection. The background of the Lamentation is blue. At the center of the scene is the body of Christ, now lifeless, lying on a sheet. Zaccaria Zacchi sculpted the anatomy with great attention, he painted the five holy wounds on the feet, ribs and hands. Thanks to the pictorial rendition, the body of Christ appears dull and dusty. Jesus is surrounded by a series of characters arranged in a semicircle behind him; all of them have suffering faces and poses, demonstrating great sufferance for the death of Christ. Joseph of Arimatea’s hand points towards the corpse of Christ and the sacrifice of his life. John the Apostle, next to him, dressed in red and green appears to be bewildered and amazed rather than suffering. In the center of the semicircle, with her hands in a sign of despair is the grieving Virgin. To the right of the Virgin Mary is Mary Magdalene, with a suffering countenance and tears in her eyes, and Nicodemus who, just like Joseph, points to the feet of the lifeless body of Jesus.