The Church of the Congregation dedicated to the Madonna of the Rosary
The so-called “Ruined Madonna”, which stood on the road to Montisi a short distance away from the village, between the Piano della Madonna (a name that refers to this same nearby church) and the Moscadella farm estates, consisted of a vaulted nave, presumably built in the 15th century. It was officiated by a Chaplain and administrated by a Camerlingo (Chamberlain), who was appointed by the relevant Chapter, accountable in its turn to the Bishop of Pienza.
The church housed the venerated image of the Virgin of the Rosary, also known as the Virgin “of the Spring”, in reference to the nearby “Spring of the Madonna”, where the young Apollonia Generali used to go to pray. As an adolescent she had lived for a while on the Moscadella farm estate and was later to become Sister Rosa Maria Generali.
The image, a small 17th century painting on canvas, is currently housed in the right-hand side-altar of the Parish Church, to where it was removed last century, at the time when the Church of the Madonna was deconsecrated and started to fall into disrepair. The external walls stood preserved until 1940, after which they were incorporated into a typical rural building, constructed at a later date. The bell (cast by Domenico Tanzani in 1854) was then transferred to the Moscadella farm estate, where it was hung in a suitable sail-shaped bell tower. From the 17th century onwards, the Church Chaplain resided on the nearby Bucelle estate, which then already belonged to the Oliveto Monks, and which even nowadays retains the typical structure of farm houses of that period, with two rows of round, Romanesque-style blind arches.
If we compare the information contained in Memoirs in the Archives of the Collegiate (Church) of Sinalunga of 1749 with the corresponding Documentation of the Diocesan Archives of Pienza, some interesting facts come to light. Some of these, concerning in particular our present-day and eliminated Confraternities, are worth mentioning here. The eliminated Church of the Madonna of the Rosary (the so-called “Ruined Madonna”) was of an unexpected importance, being located in the open countryside, even though very near the village. From the year 1637, the following seem to have been operative in this church:
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The Lay Congregation of the Holy Rosary, established at the main altar of the church, whose sacred image was venerated by Rosa Generali during the time she lived on the nearby Moscadella farm estate. The Congregation of the Holy Rosary was founded by Ippolito Borghesi, the Bishop of Pienza, bearing the edict of foundation of 3 June 1636, published on 14 May 1637, under the title of “Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary”, under the patronage of the Scaglioni and Torriti families. The Chapel of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was subsequently transferred to the Church of the Congregation of Saint Bernadino.
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The Altar of the Chantry, under the title of Saint Niccolò of Bari, under the patronage of the noble Lords Campioni of Siena, established since the year 1732 and confirmed in 1751 by order of Bishop Francesco Maria Piccolomini, under the patronage of the noble Lord Bernadino Savini of Siena.
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The Altar bearing the title of Saint Ursula, with an obligation of two masses a year, deriving from the pious legate Pesciotti, under the patronage of the house of Andreucci.
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