High Altar

Santa Maria della Scala is a museum complex in Siena, located in Piazza del Duomo, right in front of the cathedral. One of the oldest and largest European hospitals, it is now one of the most important museums and cultural centres of the city. The church of the Santissima Annunziata is incorporated within the complex of the ancient hospital.

In the interior of the church, the marble high altar in the centre of the presbytery is surmounted by a bronze statue depicting the Risen Christ by Vecchietta (signed and dated 1476). It is the most expressive fifteenth-century Sienese masterpiece, often related to the works of Donatello in the city. On either side of the Risen Christ are bronze candelabra in the form of angels, made by Accursio Baldi of Monte San Savino (1585). The frontal is decorated with the marble Dead Christ by Giuseppe Mazzuoli (1673), while the marble sculptures that adorn the altar are from his workshop.