Church San Giorgio - Siena

The Church of San Giorgio is a church in Siena, located in Via di Pantaneto.
The church was built on an earlier structure from 1081 and dedicated to Saint George, in thanks for the victory of the Sienese in the famous Battle of Montaperti (4 September 1260), in which the Ghibelline forces invoked the saint before attacking the Florentine Guelphs .

Its current appearance is due to the Ticinese architect Gian Pietro Cremona from Arosio (Alto Malcantone), who modernized it between 1731 and 1738.

The Gothic bell tower (see the ogival friezes - the lowered arches of the small windows are neutral), which unlike the church was not rebuilt in the 18th century, is characterized by 38 small windows that open on the four sides and refer to the number of Sienese military companies that took part in the battle of 1260. It is visible from the courtyard of the house at No. 1 in the street.
The facade is characterized by two columns of gigantic order and the coat of arms of Cardinal Antonio Felice Zondadari senior, promoter of the renovation.

Inside, on the facade, is the polychrome funerary monument of the painter Francesco Vanni, which was made by his sons in 1656, although the painter had actually died in 1610. The special technique for coloring the marble remained a secret.

The most interesting paintings are: the Meeting on the Road to Golgotha by Raphael Vanni (17th century), the Crucifixion with Father Mattheus Guerra by Francesco Vanni (ca. 1601-1602) and the main altar painting of St. George and the Dragon by Sebastiano Conca (18th century).

In the transept are the funerary monuments of two members of the Zondadari family, namely Cardinal Antonio Felice Zondadari senior (left transept) and Archbishop Alessandro Zondadari of Siena (right transept), who died in 1737 and 1745 respectively. Both works were executed in marble in 1748 by a Dutch sculptor. Other important works from the 18th century are the paintings of Niccolò Franchini and the Florentine Vincenzo Meucci

Willem Vandenameele