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Mensano
The Belvedere - Click to Enlarge
The
town of Mensano rises from the top of a hill at the foot of which runs the
torrent Senna which is a tributary of the River Elsa.
In
ancient times Mensano was a castle. Feudal possession of Volterra which became a Sienese
possession in the first decades of the 3rd.C. In the higher part of the town a fort was
constructed to control
the inhabitants. Mensano surrendered to the Medici in November of 1554 .
The
castle of Mensano is built in the form an Ellipse which opens out on
to the north-east face of the hill.
Erected
in the second half of the 12th.C, the parish church of San Giovanni Battista has an
oblique facade. It is formed by lines of calcrete rough cast with conglomerate and
weathered by the atmospheric agents .
The
building is layed out on a basilicate plan with three naves and three apses; the two minor
apses are built into the thickness of the wall. The 16th.C bell tower is built up against
the
ruins of the ancient orotory of San Sebastiano .
The
inside of the church is characterised by eight imposing monolithic columns with classical
capstones featuring allegorical subjects. These are important evidence of the
pisano-lucchese sculpture of the roman period in the Val d'Elsa. The work is attributed to
the Pisan Maestro Buonamico.
The
main entrance is surmounted with a raised two colour gothic arch in the Pisan
style which is inserted between two very rough half columns.
Rather
similar to the main door, the side door on the left of the church has a two coloured
vaulted arch, the motif of three lambs, well preserved and representation of fantastic
figures.
Only
a few traces of wall show the ancient fortified structure of Mensano, which had
to defend itself from different sieges above all from the Florentines.
Mensano
offers itself to our gaze without embellishment.
The
pavement extends like a puzzle with no solution or harmony with the uneven stones of the
houses.
Behind the apparent statis of history the slow changes of the town
can be seen in the
arches of the doors some open and some closed...
...some
partially modified according to necessity. Timid modification which have not
touched the overall structure of the town.
The
freedom from noise and hubbub of the city becomes protective
solitude in the lower lanes and byways.
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