DISCOVERING ... TORRITA DI SIENA
Today Torrita di Siena represents the urban evolution of a fortified castle, still partially surrounded by sections of wall that date to the 12th century with the original entry gates: Porta Gavina, Porta a Pago, and Porta a Sole.
A fourth gate, Porta Nova, was opened in the northwest section of the wall in 1800.
The heart of the village is Piazza Matteotti, with an ancient cistern that supplied water for the entire village at one time.
Located at the intersection of the four roads leading to the gates, the piazza was the center of civil and religious life in the village. Overlooking the piazza is the 13th century Town Hall, the historical seat of civic government.
Its tower boasts a double row of battlements and is reminiscent of the “Torre di Mangia” of Siena. The “Teatro Comunale degli Oscuri”, Torrita’s community theatre, is located next to the Town Hall.
It was founded by the academy of the same name in the 18th century. Inside the theatre is a bust of the celebrated lyric singer, Giulio Neri, who was born in Torrita in 1909 and whose memory is well preserved by his fellow citizens.
The church of SS. Flora and Lucilla in the late Romanesque style with a single nave, it is the oldest church within the castle walles and is of major architectural merit.
Built in the 13th century, it has a brick façade, rich in brickwork decoration, and a slightly splayed door, apart from some fragments of frescos, the church has some fine paintings and a bas-relief by Donatello ‘Il sangue del Redentore’ (the blood of the Redeemer) ca. 1430.
The original setting of the work is not known.
In the 19th century, it was moved from the outside of the church of the Madonna delle Nevi to the vestibule of the ‘Ospedale Maestri’.
It is assumed that the bas-relief was originally part a composite tabernacle.
The central theme of the lunette is the Redeemer, whose blood gushes form a wound in his side and is collected in a chalice, by an angel in flight.
The work is remarkable for its rich composition: an adoring angel at each side, Christ at the centre, the cornice cutting into the halo surrounding the Redeemer, all taking the sense of movement upwards.
Similarities to this lunette can be found in the ‘Assunzione della Vergine’ at the ‘Monumento Brancacci’ in Naples and the ‘Ascensione e consegna delle Chiavi ‘ in London (ca. 1430).
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