High Altar
by VECCHIETTA, Marble, bronze
The marble high altar of the presbytery was built in 1532 by Baldassarre Peruzzi. The enormous bronze ciborium is the work of Vecchietta (1467-72, originally commissioned for the church of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, across the square, and brought to the cathedral in 1506). At the sides of the high altar, the lower pair of angels are masterpieces by Francesco di Giorgio Martini; the upper pair were made by Giovanni di Stefano (1443-c. 1506), the son of the painter Sassetta.