SAINT BIAGIO CHURCH
The Church of San Biagio, just outside the city, is one of Italy's Renaissance masterpieces. It was built in travertino between 1518 and 1545 by Sangallo the Elder on a pre-existing Pieve. This is a solid construction on a Greek cross plan where the principal facade is enriched by two bell towers, one of wich is incomplete, while the apse is endowed with a large semi-circular terrace. The inside, characterized by classical decorations, note the main altar, with the magnificent frontispiece executed in 1584 by Giannozzo and Lisandro di Pietro Albertini. It holds a miraculous image of the Virgin, from an archaic era, that was part of the previous medieval church knocked down to make way for the new temple. The church was consecrated by Pope Clement VII in 1529.
In front of the church are Sangallo's rectory of San Biagio and the beautiful well, similar to the one in Piazza Grande.