Chiesa di San Bartolo (Saint Bartolo Church), San Gimignano

Just outside the medieval town’s first set of walls, Saint Bartolo Church dates back to 1173 and is traditionally believed to have once served as the Jerusalemite Hospital of Saint Matthew along the Pilgrim’s Way to Rome. The earliest surviving records mentioning the church date to 1196, when the Bishop of Volterra assigned its oversight to the local authorities from Céllole comune.

Over the centuries, the church became administratively linked with Saint Blaise. By the 14th century, the two shared modest but consistent incomes, and in 1572, the local “Society of Saint Bartolo” was established-eventually bestowing its name solely upon this church. Ongoing care led to important 19th‑century renovations, especially of the apse, and further restorations have occurred since to preserve the building’s historic integrity.

Architecturally, the church exemplifies Romanesque style. Its façade features two tiers of five partially blind arcades, showing the influence of Lucca and Pisa schools: the lower arcade rests on semicircular columns with Pisan-style bases, and is decorated with zigzagged and elliptical-leaf carvings, while the upper tier mirrors the lower but is capped by a later-added brick tympanum in a different hue.

This simplicity extends inside: the structure comprises a single nave with wooden truss roofing, lacking an apse, and showcasing a subtle change in floor level toward the presbytery. Within, several small but significant highlights there is a 15th‑century Florentine wooden crucifix, evoking regional craftsmanship. Meanwhile, two painted lunettes-“Nativity of Mary” and “Saints Adoring the Miraculous Annunciation of Florence”-by Niccolò Lapi, add Renaissance character to the otherwise austere interior.