"Exploring the Hidden Gem: Pieve di San Giovanni Battista in Sovicille, Tuscany"

Hello dearest friends,

It is with immense pleasure that I return to share another post in this beautiful community. Yesterday was a very busy day at work, and as a result, I couldn't publish the daily post. However, by recovering a part of my phone's memory, I managed to retrieve other photos I had taken, again in the province of Siena, in the municipality of Sovicille.

For those who might have missed my previous post, a few days ago, I shared a post about a castle that has now been transformed into a farm, located in the province of Siena. As I explained earlier, I lost part of the material I had photographed due to a phone malfunction. Fortunately, I recovered beautiful photos of a church I found along the way, which is one of the peculiarities often encountered in Tuscany – rural landscapes suddenly punctuated by isolated churches.

In these photos, you can see the Pieve di San Giovanni Battista, located in an area called Ponte allo Spino. It is an important church in French Romanesque style, although, in my opinion, it leans towards Gothic architecture. As mentioned yesterday, this part of Tuscany was a passage for pilgrims, so it's normal that churches were built to provide shelter and refuge.

I regret not being able to show you the interior because I couldn't recover the photos I took inside. It's a shame because I was fortunate to find it open. As you can see from the external photos, it is well-maintained and has probably been restored several times over the years.

I conducted some research to understand the history of this place, and although I didn't find much material, it seems the building was partly constructed with sandstone dating back to the twelfth century. As an art enthusiast, I noticed the mix of Romanesque and Norman architectural styles – truly a beautiful gem to preserve.
Like many other churches I have visited, this one is divided into three naves to accommodate a larger number of pilgrims and faithful, allowing for a better distribution inside the church.

In conclusion, this discovery further made me reflect on the fact that in Italy, there are so many churches and monuments that are largely unknown to most people worldwide. It was gratifying for me to have found this place in my exploration, though it's a pity that it is not more valued.

As usual, I thank you for dedicating time to reading my story. I hope you found it interesting, and I hope you enjoyed the photos. See you in the next post, but not without wishing you all a wonderful day.