Chapel of Santa Fina

A small Renaissance chapel at the end of the right aisle of the Collegiata, built in 1468 by Giuliano da Maiano to house the remains of San Gimignano's own saint. The two lateral frescoes are by Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted around 1475 when he was in his early thirties — among his finest early work. The left fresco shows the Annunciation of Santa Fina's death by St Gregory; the right shows her funeral. The architectural perspective in the backgrounds, and the portrait-quality faces of the Florentine merchants and townspeople Ghirlandaio slipped into the crowds, repay close attention.

Santa Fina was a local girl who fell ill at the age of ten and spent the remaining five years of her life lying on a plank in penance. When she died in 1253, the town's bells were said to have rung on their own. The chapel is included in the Collegiata admission — look carefully or you might walk past the entrance.

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