by Felicia Rotundo

Origins and history

The origins of the church of Sant' Agostino date back to the 1200s and throughout the following centuries it has undergone numerous modifications. The most significant of these was carried out by Luigi Vanvitelli following the fire of 1747. The construction of the external portico was designed by Agostino Fantastici and dates back to 1819.

The current building includes work carried out in the VII century that superimposed modifications onto the existing medieval and Renaissance elements, traces of which can still be found in the apses of the church.

The reconstruction by Luigi Vanvitelli 1745-1755

On the 17th July 1747, based on the design by Luigi Vanvitelli, work began on the construction of the pilasters that were to support the roof of the new church. The task of managing and completing the work, which would not be completed until 1755, was entrusted to master builders from Siena Sebastiano and Giuseppe Minacci. The Augustine order paid the sum of 10,000 scudi for this project.

The builders did not, however, receive the approval of Vanvitelli, who wrote a letter denouncing the mangling of the church by “ignorant builders”.

The modifications to the Sant’Agostino is one of the least noted works of Vanvitelli, yet it remains a testimony to the history of Siena. The building has one ample nave covered in vaulted ceilings and hemispherical domes and the lateral walls divided by plasterwork that terminates in the trabeation that runs along the whole perimeter. This is characterized by a harmonious spatial balance that is a testimony to the emergence of neoclassicism over late baroque.

The frescoes

The architecture is completed by the rich and interesting decoration consisting of polychrome marble altars and paintings by Pietro Perugino, Francesco Vanni, Rutilio Manetti and Sodoma and by the frescoes by Francesco di Giorgio and Luca Signorelli, within the Bichi Chapel, and that of Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Piccolomini Chapel.