The Co-cathedral of SS. Marziale and Alberto in Colle Val d'Elsa

Co-cathedral Interior

The church is a sacred place where everything refers to the divine Mystery. Already at the main door, itself a symbol of Christ (“I am the door,” John 10:9), are the emblems of the Lord’s Passion and of the Holy Nail. In the same way, entering the church, we find ourselves at the foot of a cross formed by the nave and the transept cutting across it.

The central nave is the space where the community of faithful assemble to take part in the liturgy, while the two side aisles, flanked by chapels, are areas of transit towards the focus of the celebration, the high altar. The altar, positioned at the intersection of the cross, is the place where the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is celebrated in memory of Christ’s sacrifice, during which the Last Supper happens again, and with it the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ are relived. Above the altar is a marvelous bronze crucifix cast by Pietro Tacca on a model by Giambologna. On the left is the cathedra, the bishop’s throne, while in the apse is the choir where the clergy sat during celebrations, both of these carved by the master craftsman Silvestro Ceramelli in 1628 . The transept terminates at either end in a chapel: on the left is the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, where the tabernacle holding the consecrated Host, the Real Presence of Christ, stands on the altar made of semiprecious stones by . . .

  • Central nave.
  • Tacca P.-Giambologna, Crucifix, 1629.

  • Ceramelli S., Cathedra, 1628.
  • Chapel of the Holy Sacrament.
  • Chapel of the Holy Nail.
  • Rosselli D., Baptismal font, 15th century.
  • Rosselli D., Pulpit, 1465.