Santa Annunziata Church

The Church of the Santissima Annunziata was built approximately in the 16th century. Set between brick buildings, the church has a brick façade with a triangular gable decorated with terracotta elements. The bell tower is a fine example of Baroque religious architecture, which expressed itself in original forms such as the decoration of the peaks decorated with a bulb or onion, reminiscent of a candle flame.

The interior, with a single nave, is denoted by rich 18th-century stucco decorations. The high altar, refurbished in 1729, reflects the late Baroque style of the time and seems to be tailor-made to accommodate the painting of The Annunciation by Francesco Vanni: four twisted columns flank the painting and at the apex a stucco canopy hosts cherubs. The upper register is enlivened by two angels, while at the bottom two statues of the Prophet Isaiah and King David complete the structure.

These decorations were entrusted to the mastery of Bartolomeo Mazzuoli, a Sienese sculptor and stucco artist who we find in Rome alongside Bernini. On the side walls are two altars dedicated to St Giuseppe and ot Our Lady of Fatima, respectively. Attached to the church is the Oratory of the Santissimo Crocifisso, on whose walls is an 18th-century Via Crucis in enamelled terracotta. In 1843, the place was equipped with an elegant baptismal font in yellow Siena marble.