This splendid wooden statuette, a masterpiece by the Sienese artist Francesco Valdambrino, dates from the early 1400s. Valdambrino worked in the Pisa area alongside Jacopo della Quercia from the late 14th century onward. With its slender face marked by a slight squint, the statue is admired for its elegant lines and soft drapery.
The artist behind the 15th-century “Black Christ,” however, remains unknown; this fine wooden work by a Florentine sculptor shows clear influence from Renaissance tastes.
The two works are in the church of St. Andrew and the adjoining oratory. Also in the church is a Roman-era altar dedicated to Bellona, the goddess of war. Dating to the 1st or 2nd century AD, it was either an altar or, as the inscription engraved on it suggests, the base of a votive offering. It was found not far from the site where the Abbey of San Pietro was founded.
