Barberino Val d’Elsa
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The name Barberino first appears in a manuscript dated i 1054 and is recorded as a town from the 13th century onwards. The town was fortified by Florence after the destruction of Semifonte as a stronghold against the area’s powerful feudal lords. Indeed, it seems that its walls and gates might even have been made using the stones from Semifonte’s dismantled buildings. The fortress was among those attacked by Emperor Henry Vll on his way to Siena in 1312. The town’s Medieval plan, almost elliptical and crossed by two parallel longitudinal roads, is still clearly visible. Near Porta Fiorentina, the gate of, which no longer exists, stands a pilgrims’ hospital, founded in 1363 by Taddeo da Barberino, son of the poet Francesco. Along via Francesco da Barberino is the Palazzo del Podestà, governor’s palace, its facade decorated with armorial bearings. Further along is Palazzo Barberini; the noble family originated here and the Barberini shield with three horseflies decorates the doorway. One of their descendants was Pope Urban Vlll who sentenced Galileo Galilei for his heliocentric ideas. At the end of this road we find Porta Senese, still in good condition and surmounted by its bell-house. The neo-Gothic Church of San Bartolomeo, on via Cassia, was designed in 1913 by the architect Giuseppe Castellucci. The facade is decorated with pilaster strips, small suspended arches and a doorway outlined with pointed arches. The works of art inside belong to the earlier church that stood on this site. On the right of the entrance is a canvas by an unknown 17th century artist depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew. The small chapel at the far end preserves the body of the Blessed Davanzato, the parish priest of Barberino, who died in 1245. The bust of the Blessed Davanzato is a copy of the sculpture by the early 17th century artist PietroTacca. The original is displayed in the Museo di Santo Stefano a Ponte in Florence. In the small side-chapel on the left is a fragment of a fresco of the Annunciation by a 14th century painter. In the left nave is a late 16th century painting of the Virgin handing the Rosary to Saint Catherine of Siena and to Saint Dominic. Its frame illustrating the Mysteries of the Rosary was a later addition.
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