Sinalunga is a town and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...
'' in the
province of Siena
The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena.
Geography
The province is divided into seven historical areas:
* Alta Val d'Elsa
* Chianti senese
* The urban area of ...
, in the
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
region of central
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
History
Aside from scanty prehistoric findings, the oldest historical remains date from the 8th century BC, when Sinalunga was perhaps an
Etruscan settlement under the control of
Chiusi
Chiusi ( Etruscan: ''Clevsin''; Umbrian: ''Camars''; Ancient Greek: ''Klysion'', ''Κλύσιον''; Latin: ''Clusium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy.
History
Clusium (''Clevsin'' in Etruscan) was one ...
, with some temple at the top of the hill where Sinalunga lies.
The current town grew up around the medieval castle called ''Castello delle Ripe'', attracting people on the hill after the Etruscan land reclamation works in the area were gradually abandoned. ''Asinalonga'' is mentioned for the first time in the 8th century. The town was later under the Cacciaconti family, who became subjects of the
commune of Siena in 1197.
Main sights
*''Palazzo Pretorio'', built between 1337 and 1346. It was the centre of the civil power in the town, as attested by the podestà and Medici crests on its facade.
*''
Collegiata di San Martino'' (16th century), built from 1568 over the ancient castle. The interior, on the Latin cross, has works by
Benvenuto di Giovanni,
Il Sodoma
Il Sodoma (1477 – 14 February 1549) was the name given to the Italian Renaissance painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi. Il Sodoma painted in a manner that superimposed the High Renaissance style of early 16th-century Rome onto the traditions of ...
and
Rutilio Manetti
Rutilio di Lorenzo Manetti (c. 1571 – 22 July 1639) was an Italian painter of late- Mannerism or proto- Baroque, active mainly in Siena.
Biography
He was influenced and/or taught by the local artists Francesco Vanni and Ventura Salimbeni. He ...
*Church of ''Santa Lucia'' (erected in 1278), now used as auditorium.
*Church of ''
Santa Croce'' (15th century). It houses the ''Wedding of the Virgin'' by
Luca Signorelli
Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499� ...
.
*Church of ''
San Pietro ad Mensulas'', built in the 4th century on a pre-existing Roman edifice, probably the main station on the Via Cassia.
*Church of
Santa Maria delle Nevi
*Church and Convent of
San Bernardino
San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cens ...
Twin cities
*
Aÿ-Champagne,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
*
Dorking
Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
References
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