Support Contrada della Selva: we need your help to repair our church. The frescoes behind the altar are relentlessly showing signs of cracking. It is, therefore, essential to repair the damaged part as well as stabilizing the façade. Your support to our Indiegogo campaign would help us to protect our history.
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Our church needs your help
Here you are in Siena, the haunted city in the Tuscan countryside. During winter it is covered in peaceful snow, in summertime a ruthless sun hammers on your brain exacerbating everything, passions explode violently. Piazza del Campo, you say? Of course, it’s here!
Move forward on your right and go up Via dei Pellegrini, you’re in front of the Battistero...it’s marvelous! Yes, we’re home, we’re already in the Contrada della Selva!
Can’t you see the Contrada's scarf on the half-bust of the statue?! At the end of Via Franciosa and on top of Vallepiatta you’ll find “San Sebastiano in Vallepiatta”, but if you ask to the residents they won't be able to show it.…instead, maybe you can ask for “San Bastiano”.
Inside, at the end, you’ll see that on a lunette on the sides of the altar, there’s a dragon. A frightful dragon, I say! As children, while adults were busy with the assembly meeting, we’ll cover our eyes, in order not to see it. If you look at it, you’ll be petrified! That same dragon saw us get married, laugh at our children’s fear, it will watch over our last rest under our flag, under a ceiling we all know by heart.
Of course, San Bastiano is our home before being a church, a church that needs help. During the last 3 years, we realized that the frescoes behind the altar are relentlessly showing signs of cracking. It is, therefore, essential to repair the damaged part as well as stabilizing the façade. We can’t let go, you know that! I know that you understand it otherwise, you won’t be here. So we ask for your help to save a part of our home, follow the instructions and help us secure our memory.
Church description
The church of Saint Sebastian in Vallepiatta, current seat of the Contrada della Selva, was built from around 1493 until about 1510, upon request of the guild of weavers, who named it after their patron saint.
Until recently, the church was attributed to the Renaissance architect, Baldassarre Peruzzi. However, recent highly accredited studies agreed with the assumption that it was re-elaborated by Peruzzi, working on the project of the famous Sienese architect, painter and sculptor Francesco di Giorgio Martini (born, indeed, within the territory of the Contrada della Selva).
The picture cycle of the oratory was made by various artists, commissioned by the Gesuate nuns, who connected the church (allegedly at the beginning of the century) to their monastery, through a staircase to access the lower floor, restricted to the weavers (whose guild was suppressed in 1777 by Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany).
The church has good internal maintenance conditions, but severe damages can be detected on the fresco behind the terracotta Madonna by Francesco di Giorgio Martini, decorating the apse at the end of the presbytery.
After some internal and external analysis, having checked general conditions, it is believed that, with all due urgency, extraordinary maintenance should be performed on roof coverage.
It is also believed that those visible severe damages on the fresco decorating the presbytery’s apse are directly related to the state of maintenance of the external brick surface of the apse and that the lack of mortar between the bricks can cause humid see pages, weakening adhesion, already undermined.
Perks
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When will restoration start? Restoration works will start as soon as we have gathered enough funds for the restoration of the Church and after receiving the authorization from responsible bodies.
Will all collected money be used for restoration? All collected money will be used for the restoration of the church, down to the last cent.
When will you ship the perks? As soon as the campaign is closed on Indiegogo, we will contact you and, then, we will proceed with the shipment.
Will you issue any receipt? Yes, the Contrada della Selva will send you a receipt as a payment confirmation, with the exact amount of the donation.
Can I donate more than once? Yes, you can make more than one donation.
Who is the contact person for this project? The contact person is the Prior Stefano Marini. You can contact him by email at contradadellaselva76(at)gmail.com
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