From "Signa Itinerario Storico Artistico"
Text by Andrea Baldinotti and Roberta Barsanti

We only have a limited knowledge about the origin of the church dedicated to the Assunta (Our Lady of the Assumption). The remains of some walls, that were found under of the floor of the church, suggest a Roman or an Etruscan settlement. It is hypothesized that the church of Santa Maria dates from around the 7th century; in 746, according to the opinion of the prior Gaetano Giannini in “Storia dei Rettori della chiesa di Castello” (" History of the rectors of the Church of the Castle "), an eminent representative of the family of the Contarini of Venice, held the office of rector. It is sure that in 978 the Countess Willa, mother of Ugo marquis of Tuscany, gave the church to the Badia (Abbey) of Florence (that she founded in the same year), dedicated to Saint Stephen martyr and to Santa Maria Assunta (Our Lady of the Assumption). The patronage caused many contrasts, besides in 1211, Pope Onorio III “obbligava gli uomini del Castel di Signa a ricevere il rettore della loro chiesa dall’abate e monaci della Badia fiorentina”("he obliged, the people of the Castle of Signa, to receive the rector of their churches by the abbots and the monks of the Badia of Florence").

In 1326, the destruction of the Castle was caused by the troops of Castruccio Castracani, the damage to the church is unknown. The church is mentioned, as a priory, in some documents of the 18th century. As late as 1812, nevertheless, another event worth mentioning was: the body of Saint Placido was carried in procession into the church by the Sisters of San Piero a Monticelli.

The exterior structure appears as a simple stone building surface. The main door is framed by a rich neo-renaissance decorationVilla medicea of Poggio a Caiano.

The interior has a single nave. The present aspect is due to the restoration (1803–1816) arranged by the prior Gaetano Giannini. The priest acquired, at least, two of the four panels that adorn the altars. On the first altar of the left wall, is an altarpiece representing Christ showing the plagues to Saint Bernard from Chiaravalle, a copy, that dates from the 8th century, of the original by Jacopo Vignali (1623) kept in the church ofSanti Simone e Giuda (Saints Simon and Judas) in Florence. In 1815, the canvas, bought in 1789 by prior Giannini, was put on the altar. The painting, that replaced the panel with the image of "Maria la Santissima Vergine" (or Madonna of Humility), has been the main ornament of the main altar since 1816.

According to the prior Giannini, in 1450 the original altar, on the left, was purchased by the florentine nobleman Alexander d'Angiolo Biliotti, who had dedicated it to the Nativity of Mary by placing the image of the Madonna with the Child. Here we can also find the funeral memory of Monsignor Giuseppe Fiammetti, founder of the Congregation of the Passioniste Nuns (1870), executed by Giuseppe Santelli in collaboration with the brothers Adamo and Francesco; the celebrating epigraph was composed by monsignor Pagnini.

Above the second altar, commissioned by Girolamo Mori Ubaldini and Carlo Ferroni in 1716, is the “Transit of Saint Joseph”. Giannini attributes the painting to Carlo Sacconi and according to him, it was done in 1715.

On the third altar, also by Carlo Ferroni, is the Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Catharine of Alexandria, Saint Gaetano of Thiene and Saint Charles Borromeo. It is again attributed to Carlo Sacconi.

On the external wall of the apse is a stone ciborium (around 1400). Above the door that leads to the rectory, we can see the remains of two scenes, frescoed by a main Anonymous master at the end of 1200’s, who is, also, attributed the crucified Christ between the Madonna and San Giovanni too, currently placed behind the main altar.

It is presumable that the two aforesaid scenes and the Crucifixion, were part of a single decorative panel placed along the wall of the church. The high quality of the painting led to attribute it to the name of Cimabue; more recent studies have been oriented towards an anonymous personality working in Florence, in the last decade of the 13th century; the reason of such supposition is based on the fact that he already had the knowledge of the innovative techniques expressed by Giotto in his “Crocifisso di Santa Maria Novella”. Below the main altar, in the crypt, purchased by Don Natalino Rossi in 1987, the remains of San Placido’s body are preserved, who probably was martyred in 251. The mortal remains of the saint, which had been found in the catacomb of Saint Callisto in Rome, were brought to Florence and entrusted to the Sisters of Monticelli until 1812, when they were moved to Santa Maria in Castello.

In the apse there is a piece of remarkable importance: the small ‘Madonna of Humility’, connected to the style of Mariotto di Nardo and then attributed to the school of Lorenzo Monaco, (first decade of the 15th century?). On the right, a fragment of a fresco representing Saint Catharine of Alexandria, executed by the "Maestro di Signa" (half of the 15th century). The image had been painted over the surface of the Crucifixion, it was separated in the course of its restoration realised in 1975. Going beyond the door leading into the sacristy, the third altar that we can see on the left, has one great altarpiece above, it with the “Adoration of the Magi” by Sigismondo Coccapani. The painter has left his acronym and the date (1617) over one of the steps of the base where the Madonna is sitting. In 1810 the painting reached the church of Saint Maria in Castle, thanks to the prior Giannini; it was coming from the cancelled convent of Saint Baldassarre in Florence. The altar was erected for that occasion: it bears the coat of arms of the prior.

The first altar, that framed the aforesaid fresco with the “Crucifixion”, was concluded in 1646 and decorated with marbles. In 1715, as the inscription, below the Lord’s Table, attested, was further decorated by Girolamo Vieri; today contains a modern crucifix. The second altar was erected by the Fagioli family in 1311; which was dedicated to the SS. Trinity. In 1809 it was radically remodelled thanks to prior Giannini, who also added a second painting from the 19th century, by the painter Giovanni Gagliardi, which no longer exists.

Next to the church there is a building, that was built in the 1700s; the building housed the “Compagnia della Buona Morte” ("Company of Good Death") (1713).
The large premises, which were built up between 1717 and 1720 during the priory of Michele Maria Pallavicini; have got a vaulted ceiling, frescoed with the image of Saint in Glory. The altar was dedicated to Saint Joseph and Saint Teresa, both represented on the painting placed above it. Prior Giannini attributes the work to the painter Santi Pacini (1724). On the right wall there is a commemorative tombstone by Giuseppe Santelli (1876).