Ex- Oratorio di San Crispino (14th century)

 Photo courtesy of the
Residenza San Crispino

The first mention of the oratory dates 1426, when it provided the headquarters for the Confraternita dei Disciplinati di Santa Maria Maggiore, which was also known as the Confraternita di S. Biagio.  (St Blaise was the patron saint of the wool workers,  whose operations were centred on nearby Fonte Moiano).  The confraternity was suppressed in 1772, and the oratory was assigned to the Confraternita di San Crispino (the shoemakers’ guild) in 1790.  It subsequently fell into disrepair and was restored and converted into a hotel in the early 20th century.  

The Pinacoteca contains a number of frescoes that were detached from the oratory, many of which were by an artist known as the Maestro di San Crispino, as well as panels from a processional banner by l’ Alunno that belonged to the Confraternita di S. Biagio . 

Photo courtesy of the Residenza San Crispino

Frescoes (ca. 1330) by the Maestro di San Crispino survive in situ in the shrine above the portal.  They  depict the Madonna and Child with SS Francis and Clare, with SS Blaise (Biagio) and John the Baptist to the sides and the Lamb of God above.  There is a damaged fresco of St Christopher on the outside of the shrine.

Read more:
Professor F. Santucci gives a more detailed historical account of the Oratorio di San Crispino in the website of the Residenza San Crispino.

Retrun to Walk II