The council of Siena, under the watch of St Christopher

The Roman Catholic church of San Cristoforo is located on Piazza Tolomei, in the Northern Terzo di Camollia and contrada of Civetta, in the city of Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Across the piazza from the church stands the Palazzo Tolomei, one of the oldest buildings in the city, with a rich history tied to the church. In 1260, a meeting took place between the Council of 24 and Florentine ambassadors at the adjacent small cloister that proved to be pivotal in the history of Siena.

The council demanded that Siena breach its walls and allow Florentine fortresses in each Terzo. These heavy demands forced the council to decide that war was inevitable, and they dismissed the ambassadors, preparing the ground for war. To hire German mercenaries, which proved crucial to their victory over Florence at the Battle of Montaperti, the council lacked funds. Salimbene Salimbeni, a local banker, stepped in, simply walking to his nearby home and returning to the small cloister with a wheelbarrow full of 118,000 florins.

On a different occasion, the small cloister witnessed another momentous event, a reconciliation of a bitter feud between the Maconi and Tolomei/Rimaldini families, achieved by Saint Catherine of Siena, through her personal efforts in 1376. Today, the small cloister attached to the church contains several pieces of historical interest, such as a Madonna and child by the 15th-century school of Della Robbia, a St George and the Dragon and a St Christopher, attributed to either the Master of the Osservanza Triptych or Sano di Pietro; and a tondo of the Madonna and child by the Master of San Pietro a Ovile.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons