Collegiate Church of San Biagio in Sinalunga
Sacred furnishings, historic books, reliquaries and artworks by Tuscan artists
The Collegiate Church of San Biagio is located near Sinalunga, in the hamlet of Scrofiano. It was built in the 13th century but there were numerous renovations in the 16th and 17th centuries. The church conserves a sacred art collection in the rooms adjacent to the 13th-century church, which includes priceless paintings by Tuscan artists coming primarily from the late 1500s as well as sacred furnishings, exquisite textiles and an archive of historic and liturgical books.
The most interesting altarpieces are located in the various monumental altars: two are by Domenico Cresti, known as Il Passignano, a Florentine artist who painted an Immaculate Conception and a Sacra Conversazione. There is also a painting of the Madonna and Child with Saints Lawrence, Anthony Abbot and Ursula and an Apostle by an anonymous 17th-century Tuscan artist, as well as an altarpiece by Santi di Tito and a 19th-century panel painting by Nicola Monti.
Other unique objects in this collection include a Roman Breviary, printed in the mid-1500s by Paolo Manuzio, and a silver reliquary made by a Sienese artist in the 1700s to hold the finger of St. Blaise.
