Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Pietro
In Piancastagnaio, a church renewed thanks to an ancient legend
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Pietro is located in Piancastagnaio on the site of an earlier church built in Romanesque style, with its facade facing the opposite side from the one we see today.
According to a legend dating back to 1583, in fact, a young boy who was in the area entered the church and kneeling in front of the painting of the Madonna con Bambino (Madonna with Child) - painted by the painter Martino di Urbano - heard the Virgin Mary asking him to pray for the sins of all Christians.
The news aroused such fervor in the village that in the early 1600s a radical renovation was undertaken: the painting of the Virgin Mary was moved to the high altar where, indeed, the facade had previously stood.
The church thus acquired its present appearance
In 1979 the plaster on the facade was completely redone so that the rose window and portal would stand out.
Inside, the frescoes on the side walls depicting Death, Judgment, Hell, and Paradise are the work of Francesco Nasini, the forefather of a family of 17th-century painters.
The wealth of frescoes and furnishings in this church testifies to the attachment and devotion of the people of Piancastagnaio to the Madonna of San Pietro, who was crowned with a golden diadem by the Chapter of San Pietro in Rome in 1751.
