Statue Sante Attinia e Greciniana - Volterra - Tuscany

The statue shows the saints Actinia and Greciniana, the patrons, made of terracotta by the corresponding academic Prof. Flavio Melani. The beautiful life size statue depicts the two holy martyrs (+303) holding hands, giving each other courage, before facing martyrdom for the faith professed in Jesus Christ.

Attinia and Greciniana. Two beautiful figures, women and lay women, who died for the faith during the persecution of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. Originally from the territory of Casole d'Elsa, in the diocese of Volterra, the religious tradition wants them to be courageous and faithful sisters are in the proclamation and witness of the gospel in the Etruscan city, then subject to Roman rule. After the martyrdom was allegedly suffered with spear and sword, their remains were buried on the slopes of Mount Volterra, near the gorge of the Balze. After being forgotten for several centuries, their bodies were found in 1140, during an excavation, by the Camaldolese monks of the abbey of San Giusto, who had in fact originated in that area. A marble memorial and a lead sheet identified the remains of the two saints which were transferred immediately below the main altar of the Abbey. In 1814, when the Camaldolese monks were about to leave the abbey, the relics of the saints were solemnly transferred to the cathedral, where they still rest.

From the discovery of the bodies to the present day, the cult of Attinia and Greciniana has strengthened and identified itself over the centuries, also thanks to the execution of valuable works of art, paintings and sculptures, which depict them and which are due to both famous masters such as Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Daddi, as well as local artists.

Willem Vandenameele