Church of Our Lady of Grace

Piazza Garibaldi, just outside the city walls

In 1862, this early 17th-century church was damaged by floodwaters and a new neoclassical building designed by Luigi Vannuccini and inaugurated in 1867 was built in its place. This is the church you see today.

Like any good neoclassical church, its facade is minimalist with cream-colored plaster and gray details.

Inside, above the main altar, a canvas of the Madonna delle Grazie from the original seventeenth-century church is preserved. This is by a Sienese painter believed to be Alessandro Casolari.

In Scansano the Church of the Madonna delle Grazie is called Madonna delle Botte. This rather vulgar nickname is inspired by a legend closely linked to the Casolari painting.

According to locals, the painting was found in an oak wine barrel that had arrived from the countryside and stopped at the exact spot where the church now stands. Madonna delle Botte literally means Madonna of the Botti.

This sweet, if far-fetched, legend has turned this unassuming church into something of a cult figure. It is considered one of the most important Marian churches in the diocese and a favorite among the Scansanesi.

It’s modest by most standards, but it’s definitely worth a look, if only to see what all the fuss is about.