San Biagio, Montepulciano

The Church of the Madonna di San Biagio, located about 1 km south-west below the city walls of Montepulciano, one of the most impressive central buildings of the Tuscan Renaissance. It is located in an open field at the end of an avenue of cypresses and served as a pilgrimage church.

Architectural History

The church, dedicated to Saint Blaise travertine was built by 1519-40, designed by the Florentine architect Antonio da Sangallo the Elder on the relics of the medieval Pieve di San Biagio.

The structure of the church goes back to Bramante (not executed ) plan for the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome ( 1506) and Giuliano da Sangallo on ideas for the church of Santa Maria delle Carceri in Prato of 1484, which were also not realized in this form.

Exterior

San Biagio is built on the plan of a Greek cross, the crossing is spanned by a dome. The only decoration in the basement are Doric pilasters. The entrance gates are crowned by massive triangular gables. In the floor above, these elements are repeated in the Ionic order. Furthermore located at all four arms of the cross gable triangle with one simple oculus in the center. New for the Italian Renaissance was the beginning of the 16th century that in the basement alternate directly below the dome, in the so-called Tambour, pilasters and niches, such as Bramante had suggested for the St. Peter's Basilica; This antique Baumotiv is also repeated in the interior.

Between the arms of the cross were either four or - according to other sources - only two towers planned, of which only the western completed in the north, the east has been only partially begun. At the age of four-storey tower is operated at the pilasters of the ancient order, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite - adhered to exactly. Just to the south of the central area an apse was presented, which served as a sacristy. The building itself is a simple geometric forms - reduced with ancient structure elements - cubes, cylinders, and hemisphere. The Church of the Madonna di San Biagio is a good example of a central building of the High Renaissance.

Interior

The walls are divided only by flat pilasters. This type of structure and the free position on all sides of the church corresponds to the former Ideal for a church as he could be mostly realized within cities only in smaller buildings. The main difference between exterior and interior is the unique direction that keeps the Church by the early apse and the single tower façade, while the interior shows itself as pure central space. The interior has an almost square ground plan, which is only enhanced by four short cross arms. The outward projecting apse is inside, cut off ', so that the impression of a unified central space is created.

If you look in the dome area inside shows that the drum floor is divided internally as well as externally, a further indication of the relation of church architecture to the decoration of the classic antique architecture.

One can in this interior, than almost anywhere else, make an impression of how the ancient Roman basilicas have looked inside. Although the basic structure of the Church as a central building dates back to Florence, but the interior elevation is new for its time, but historically very old. The brothers have Sangallo the ancient Basilica Aemilia carefully drawn in Rome before. During the first years of the 16th century was demolished. " Antonio has taken her not only the most prominent stylistic feature, namely the connection [ ... ] one pilasters and a sunken column in every corner, but also the design of the individual elements themselves ," ie, the rosettes in the capitals of the Doric frieze and finials in the transverse arches. The pilaster column pair can also be found on all floors of the bell tower again.