Sant'Alessandro is a Romanesque-style

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish church located on Borgo Sant'Alessandro at the corner with Viale Cesare Battisti in

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

province of Pisa The province of Pisa () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pisa. With an area of and a total population of 421,642 (), it is the second most populous and fifth largest province of Tuscany. It is subdivided i ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, Italy. It is located outside the Porta d'Arco (Portal of the Arch), one of the seven gates in the walls of Volterra.

History and description

A church was initially consecrated here in 1120 by

Pope Callixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy ...

, presumably at the site of a pagan temple. The structure is made from stone blocks and has a wooden beams sustaining the ceiling. In the facade is an oculus, and an awkward portico was added in the 16th-century. The sail-type bell tower above the apse was added in 1598 Inside a painted cross, poorly conserved, dating to the 12th century is kept in the church; it putatively derives from the Monastery of San Galgano in Chiusdino.Guida di Volterra
Benedetto Sborgi, Tipografia Sborgi, 1903, page 136. Two tablets depicting Saints Atinia and Greciniana are two of the few remaining parts of the altar made by Cosimo Daddi. A 15th-century-tabernacle is located on the right wall of the presbytery, originating from the Santi Pietro e Paolo church in Coiano, in the municipality of

Castelfiorentino Castelfiorentino is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, central-northern Italy, located between Florence (distance 30 km), Pisa (45 km) and Siena (55 km). The population numbers approxi ...

, Valdelsa, but is part of Volterra's diocese.

Sources

Alessandro Alessandro Romanesque church buildings in Italy {{Italy-struct-stub