Duomo di Montepulciano
Duomo di Montepulciano – The Duomo di Montepulciano, officially the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption), is the principal church of the hilltop town of Montepulciano in southern Tuscany. Built between 1586 and 1680, the cathedral was designed by Ippolito Scalza but features an unfinished facade that remains in rough brick, creating a distinctive austere appearance contrasting with the richly decorated interior. The cathedral houses one of the masterpieces of the Sienese Renaissance, Taddeo di Bartolo’s magnificent Assumption of the Virgin triptych (1401), considered one of the artist’s finest works. The interior also features important sculptural works including fragments of the dismembered tomb monument of Bartolomeo Aragazzi by Michelozzo, originally created for the church of San Francesco and later moved to the cathedral. The Duomo di Montepulciano is particularly renowned for Taddeo di Bartolo’s luminous Assumption triptych with its golden background and elegant Gothic figures; Michelozzo’s Renaissance sculptures from the Aragazzi Monument; and its prominent location overlooking the Piazza Grande, the civic and religious heart of Montepulciano.
