The San Silvestro’s (St. Sylvester’s) Church has a Roman origin and traditionally it is said that in the same place, up to the beginning of the 4th Century AD, there was an old heathen temple transformed into a church during the pontificate of Pope Silvestro I (313 – 335 AD).
During the High Middle Ages it was under the jurisdiction of the more important Pieve of San Lorenzo a Vaiano and during the 15th Century it became a Parish (Parrocchia) and then a village church (a Pieve), joining in 1622 the newborn diocese of San Miniato.
Today it shows a single nave structure with a Latin Cross transept and a rectangular apse. The current plan is the result of a number of modifications during the centuries; among the most important we can mention the construction of the bell tower in 1784 and the demolition of two arcades in 1875 in order to increase the capacity of the church.
On the counter-façade there is the organ, perhaps the oldest in Valdinievole (16th – 17th century), with a front in carved, painted and gilded wood. At the entrance, two 17th century holy water stoups, the right one set on a 15th century column; inside a niche, a beautiful marble baptismal font (1532).
A curious and interesting painting depicts The Miracles of Saint Anthony between Saint Francis and Saint Michael the Archangel (1663). At the center of the choir, a 19th century painting with Saint Sylvester baptizing Constantine by Bartolomeo Valiani.
Visit more in Larciano
The Church of St. Roch
The San Rocco’s (St. Roch’s) Church, in neo-Renaissance style, has reached its current aspect as a Latin cross after many interventions. At the back of the building, next to the apse, stands the bell tower with a square base, whose cell opens to the outside with a...
