Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: San Quirico d'Orcia

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of one of the three (!) portals reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. "Birds drinking from a chalice" is a very common Romanesque icon. Here the birds are obviously peacocks. The couple below (griffins ?) play peek-a-boo with a lion. The Romanesque portal may have been originally produced for a planned double portal of the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (13kms west). When the abbey run out of funds mid 13th century, the plans were cut down to a single portal - and the redundant portal was used here, where "Santi Quirico e Giulitta" was still a construction site.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of one of the three (!) portals reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. These two lions nibbling the cow´s ears are a detail of the Romanesque main portal. The portal may have been originally produced for a planned double portal of the Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (13kms west). When the abbey run out of funds mid 13th century, the plans were cut down to a single portal - and the redundant portal was used here, where "Santi Quirico e Giulitta" was still a construction site.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of one of the three (!) portals reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. The two just seen side portals open to the Via Francigena, that runs through San Quirico d'Orcia. This is the Romanesque main portal. This may have been originally produced for a planned double portal in Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (13kms west). When the abbey run out of funds mid 13th century, the plans were cut down to a single portal - and the redundant portal was used here, where "Santi Quirico e Giulitta" was still a construction site.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of one of the three (!) portals reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. The two just seen side portals open to the Via Francigena, that runs through San Quirico d'Orcia. This is the Romanesque main portal. This may have been originally produced for a planned double portal in Abbazia di Sant'Antimo (13kms west). When the abbey run out of funds mid 13th century, the plans were cut down to a single portal - and the redundant portal was used here, where "Santi Quirico e Giulitta" was still a construction site.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of one of the three (!) portal reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. Two atlants, standing on the backs of lions, hold the roof of the portico. This portal is attributed to Giovanni Pisano or at least his workshop. Pisano worked in Siena (50kms northwest) in the 1290s.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription on the lintel of the to the right reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. The left portal is attributed to Giovanni Pisano or at least his workshop. Pisano worked in Siena (50kms northwest) in the 1290s.

A church with a baptismal font (= pieve) existed here within the 8th century, when the area was ruled by Liutprand, King of the Lombards. The (Latin Cross) church of today was erected in the 12th and 13th century. An inscription one of the portal to the right reads ".. MCCLXXXXVIII..", what 1298. Santi Quirico e Giulitta was a parish church upto 1648, when it became collegiate church. To give room for the new choir stalls the Romanesque semicircular apse got replaced by a large rectangular one. The church has three portals, two of them can be seen from here.

A church existed here since the 8th century. Today´s church was erected with the help of builders, who for sure know the "modern" Gothic style, but the building still has Romanesque parts like the western portal. Here is the lintel and the tympanum of the portal. The sculpture in the center may be "Saint Quirico", some see "Saint Damasus", who was Pope for less than a month in 1048. More interesting are the two evil dragons, who fight on the lintel. These winged creatures are not very common in Tuscany. Dragons like these can often be found in Bavaria (eg Straubing, Regensburg), so the design may have traveled south via the "Via Francigena", that passes through the village. Above the fighting creatures is another devouring dragon and - n the right - two merpersons engaged in kissing.

A church existed here since the 8th century. Today´s church was erected with the help of builders, who for sure know the "modern" Gothic style, but as seen here the building still has Romanesque parts like the western portal. Two lions guard the doors and support the elaborate knotted columns.