San Giovanni Battista a Molli, Romanesque church in Sovicille, Italy.
San Giovanni Battista a Molli is a Romanesque church in Sovicille featuring solid stone walls and semi-circular arches throughout its structure. A sturdy bell tower with thick stone blocks rises beside the building, defining its appearance and character.
The first document mentioning the pieve dates from 1078, when Countess Matilda of Canossa donated the church to the bishops of Volterra. Masonry studies suggest a Lombard-era origin before that date, with Romanesque renovations. Around 1300 it became one of the comunelli of the Republic of Siena, whose statute is kept in the Siena State Archive. The comune dissolved around 1550, and the church was deconsecrated in 1970.
The church houses a 15th-century painting depicting the Madonna with Child, attributed to the Sassetta school and now protected by Siena's authorities. This artwork reflects the artistic connections between this place and Siena, where it remains carefully preserved.
The church sits at a watershed dividing the Elsa and Merse river valleys in the Montagnola Senese area. It is accessible via several hiking trails that wind through this forested countryside.
The Elsa River rises from springs immediately beside the pieve, in the Montagnola Senese. The church stands on the watershed between the Val di Merse and the Val d'Elsa, so the water gathered here feeds one of Tuscany's main rivers from its first metres.
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