Thanks to Sally Big Woods for nudging me into posting these photos.
We spent Thanksgiving in Tuscany, and one day in Siena. Folks, go to Siena. It has great churches and great church art. It's calming and beautiful and, well, Burnt Siena colored. It has is a gyro stand!
The Basilica di San Domenico is part of the convent where Catherine of Siena lived, prayed, and was ecstatic. San Domenico sits at the edge of town, near a beautiful park through which we walked from the bus parking lot. The exterior of the building is brick, of the baked-orange color that is so prevalent in the area. Most roads seem to lead away from the basilica and the convent beyond.
"Force protection" called for our group to break into smaller groups on the walk from the bus lot to the town proper, and we gathered (why? what happened to force protection?!) at the bottom of the steps leading up to the church. If we hadn't had to stop, my wandering eye wouldn't have been stopped by the basilica doors.
I can't find any information about the doors online. I do remember the tour guide saying that the doors are new, perhaps put in during the post-WW II renovations?
Of course, there is lots online about the interior of the church.
Laid out in an Egyptian cross, the interior is spacious and light. Frescoes dominate the altar area. We were more interested in the reliquaries! I confess to a certain morbid fascination with sainted body parts. To the kids, they add interest to what would be "just another church." San Domenico holds reliquares of Catherine's head and thumb. The rest of her sainted body lies in Rome. Her mother pleaded with the Dominican order just to have a few pieces remain in Siena!
While Catherine is the patron saint of Europe, and was named for the town in which she lived, San Domenico is not what the town is known for. Rather, it is the outrageous Romanesque-Gothic Duomo that captivates most tourists' attention.
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