Chiesa di San Sebastiano o della Compagnia di San Galgano Chiusdino

The Church of San Sebastiano was built to house the relics of Saint Sebastian, donated to San Galgano by Pope Alexander III. Its origins are linked to the need to ward off frequent plague epidemics, against which Saint Sebastian was invoked.

The church was suppressed by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Pietro Leopoldo, in 1785. In 1801, the Confraternity of San Galgano moved there, having been deprived of ownership of the house where Saint Galgano was born, which had been converted into barracks for the French troops occupying Chiusdino. The building remains the registered headquarters of this association today.

In 1992, the church, which had fallen into disrepair, underwent a thorough restoration, completed in 1993.

On the façade, with its simple gabled shape, you can see a bas-relief dated 1466 depicting Saint Galgano thrusting his sword into the summit of Montesiepi (on the outside), and a stained-glass window depicting Saint Sebastian, in the center, between Saint Rocco and Saint Leonard.

Inside, the church preserves some furnishings related to the liturgies of the Confraternity of Saint Galgano, whose headquarters are located here:

the processional crucifix covered by the traditional canopy, the processional lamps, and the silk banner painted with Saint Galgano in a sunny landscape.

On the altar, you can see a poorly crafted polychrome plaster sculpture depicting Saint Galgano kneeling before the sword transformed into a cross.

The sacristy houses a Dead Christ and a Sorrowful Virgin, still used today in Holy Week celebrations.

Among other things, the Confraternity of San Galgano of Chiusdino boasts the distinction of being the oldest confraternity still in existence, having been founded in 1185.

The feast of San Galgano is celebrated every year in the church on December 3rd with great popular participation; on this occasion, the prior of the confraternity invites the faithful to the traditional kissing of the saint's relics.

On the right wall, a niche houses a statue of Saint Rita of Cascia, an object of great popular devotion, especially on the saint's feast day, May 22nd, when the church fills for the traditional blessing of the roses.