Church in Lecchi in Chianti, Sienna, Tuscany, Italy

Church in Lecchi in Chianti 
Sienna, Tuscany, Italy

"South of Radda, Lecchi in Chianti lies at the foot of a hill surmounted by the tumbledown castle of Monteluco. The quaint hamlet is lined along the main road which rises upto Ama. With its distinctive stone houses and dignified church, this backwater looks much as it did in medieval times. It was then an area of great estates linked to landowners such as the Ricasoli wine barons. Crowning the hill is Monteluco castle, which dates back to 1176. The castle was a Sienese bastion but battered in attacks in the 15th and 16th centuries. The fortifications feature a ruined hilltop fort surveying the Massellone valley, backed by a limestone watchtower below. Local walks link Lecchi to the lovely hamlet of San Sano, complete with home-cooking in a quiet inn. Trails through vineyards fan out from Lecchi, including a walk to Localita Molinaccio for a summer swim in river pools." (Link 1.)

Church Shrine

Church Plaque

Notes by RW:  This town, about 35 miles from Florence, was where Florence sent its undesirables to be exiled.  Specifically they sent them to what was called the Marlboro Ghetto.  The Malborghetto is now a well known restaurant.  The church, now seemingly in active, was the church of the exiled undesirables.

Poster at Malborghetto Restaurant:  "The Restaurant's name, Malboroghetto, comes from the Renaissance Period where the word was used to indicate border outposts where evil doers and politicians too famous to be killed were sent. ...."

Church Wall and Steeple

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Photos: Taken in Sept. 2018 by RW while travelling to Italy for the L'Eroica Classic Bike Race.
Link 1: https://www.to-tuscany.com/travel-guide/towns-villages/central-tuscany/lecchi-in-chianti/
Link 2: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g616196-d1490967-Reviews-Ristorante_Malborghetto-

                                                                          Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)

                                                                                                                                January 1, 2017

Propositura di San Niccolò, Catholic Church
Piazza Della Chiesa 4

Propositura di San Niccolò, Catholic Church/St. Nicholas Center
Radda, Chianti, Tuscany,Italy

"Radda in Chianti is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of Florence and about 15 km (9 miles) north of Siena."(Link 3.)

Detail above front door

"Roman Catholic Radda in Chianti, Tuscany Italy The church was first mentioned in 1260. Damage was so extensive in World War II that only past reports and inventories provided information for restoration. The last reordering took place in 1969 to reorient the main altar in accord with the Second Vatican Council changes. The rectory is inside the church on the left; the Chapel of the Society of St. Gregory the Great and St. Mary of Graces is adjacent on the right of the facade." (Link 1.)

Altar

"...a church of Romanesque origins that houses a venerated wooden Crucifix of the 15 C."  (Link 2.)

Lectern and Statue

Statue


Rose Window seen on outside front of church

Photos: Taken in Radda, Italy on iPhone by RW while  at the 2016

                 L'Eroica  Classic Bike Race in Tuscany, Italy.

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Link 1: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/galleries/gazetteer/5254/
Link 2: http://www.radda.org/
Link 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radda_in_Chianti

Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)

                                                                                                 December 18, 2016

Chiesa di San Sigismondo

Chiesa di San Sigismondo/Gaiole in Chianti/Church of St. Sigismund

Gaiole, Chianti, Italy

History

"The church, a neo-gothic building consecrated in 1959, is flanked on the left by the bell tower. The facade, devoid of sandstone finish that characterizes the rest of the exterior, prelude, in tripartite form, the internal layout of three naves separated by pillars, vaulted cross and apses.Among the furnishings of the building stands the altar frontal in scagliola depicting the center the Virgin of the Rosary. The church comes a panel depicting the Crucifixion with mourners and St. Francis, painted by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini." (Link 1.)

Front Doors

"The St. Sigismund church is the main church of Gaiole in Chianti ....The facade , devoid of the coating instone that characterizes the rest of the exterior, prelude, in tripartite form, the internal arrangement of the three naves separated by pillars ,vaulted cross and apses .

"Among the furnishings of the building, mostly works of twentieth-century inspired by the Middle Ages , stands on the main altar the frontal in scagliola depicting the center the Virgin of the Rosary (1699 ). The church comes a panel depicting the Crucifixion with mourners and St. Francis , performed to the 1390 - 1395by Niccolò di Pietro Gerini , currently preserved at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena . " (Link 2.)

Nave 

Altar

Sanctuary

Kneeler and Statue

Stained Glass Window
above Kneeler

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Photos: Taken in Siena, Italy on iPhone by RW while  at the 2016

                 L'Eroica  Classic Bike Race in Tuscany, Italy.
Link 1:  http://www.chiantisenese.com/en/gaiole-in-chianti/chiesa-di-san-
                 sigismondo-p-9_vis_4_605.html (translation)
Link2:  https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiesa_di_San_Sigismondo_(Gaiole_in                _Chian   ti) (translation)

Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians throughout the world. Amen (SW.)