The village
The village of Sietina consists of the Parish Church, dedicated to Santa Maria Maddalena, a manor house built on the former rectory, an annex to the villa, and two other medieval-style houses. This arrangement has characterized the small rural settlement for centuries, giving the place an ancient and suspended atmosphere.
The Memorial Park
The small lawn in front of the church, currently designated as the Memorial Park in memory of the fallen of the Great War who lived in Sietina and the surrounding area, is surrounded by a stone wall and serves as a path to access the church and preserves the memorial stones of the deceased. The Parish Church, once a burial site, now has the task of remembering the sacrifice of their lives and preserving their memory.
The Parish Church
The church of Sietina is considered by Mario Salmi 'a rare building built between the 9th and 10th century'. Some scholars hypothesize the existence of an older parish church, perhaps from the Paleochristian period, which was destroyed and on whose ruins the current church was built. However, there is no documentation or archaeological investigation to support this theory.
The facade of the church appears plastered and shows obvious signs of restorations over time, such as the entrance portal leaning against a pre-existing door, certainly commissioned by the same Bacci, which encloses the family crest. The church is oriented, with a basilica plan with three naves and triapsidal. The area of the main altar is raised by two steps and is delimited by a delightful polychrome wooden balustrade, at whose ends the Farsetti family crest seems to be depicted, to which Andrea Farsetti belonged, parish priest in the church of Sietina from 1698 to 1729.
The frescoes in the church were restored, under the supervision of the Superintendent of Arezzo (Superintendent of APPSAD assets), during the years 1998 and 1999. A good part of the remaining paintings is well preserved and of rare intensity, able to immediately capture the attention of anyone who enters the church. Other frescoes, more ruined and much less readable, are still visible in the basin of the right apse. In the under arch on the immediate right of the central altar, a sinopia can be recognized. In the preparatory drawing of the fresco, which is barely visible, the images of a flagellation emerge. The votive origin paintings can be attributed to different periods. The 14th century cycle, attributed to the so-called Master of Sietina Parish Church, includes a series of frescoes that run along the walls of the central nave.
Starting from the right of the presbytery and following towards the entrance of the church, we can identify a first fresco with Four Saints, we recognize Peter, Lawrence and Stephen, a second fresco, in the last pillar of the central nave, with Saint Benedict, and finally, a third fresco, in the following pillar, with Bishop St. Blaise. On the left side, in the last pillar, there is a Saint Christopher with the child on his shoulders. Proceeding towards the door of the church, we find a Magdalene in the desert receiving the Eucharist from the angel and, in the following pillar, a Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
Other frescoes by the Master of Sietina Parish Church, located in the under arch between the two pillars, are 'The Madonna on the throne with the child and the praying Saints Catherine and Magdalene' and a Trinity, consisting of a body with three different heads. The Spinelli mural triptych with St. Anthony Abbot, Madonna with Child on the throne, and Martyrdom of St. Agatha, placed above the third right arch, is posterior to the 14th century frescoes, dating back to the early 15th century.