Pietro Lorenzetti | The Tarlati polyptych

The Tarlati polyptych or Polittico di Santa Maria della Pieve ad Arezzo, is a Renaissance polyptych painted by the Italian artist Pietro Lorenzetti, with tempera and gold on panel, in 1320. It is located at the Church of Santa Maria della Pieve in Arezzo, Italy.
It depicts the Madonna and Child with Donatus of Arezzo, John the Evangelist, John the Baptist and Saint Matthew.
The term Tarlati refers to Guido Tarlati, who was the bishop of Arezzo and died in 1327.

Monastic Art in Lorenzo Monaco’s Florence: Painting and Patronage in Santa Maria degli Angeli, 1300-1415 (Lewiston, NY, 2006). Giovanni Freni, The Aretine Polyptych by Pietro Lorenzetti: Patronage, Iconography and Original Setting, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 63, (2000), pp. 59-110
[1] The term Tarlati refers to Guido Tarlati, who was the bishop of Arezzo and died in 1327. Tarlati became bishop of 1312 and during his administration the city had good relations with its neighbor Florence. According to Giorgio Vasari the tomb commissioned by Guido's brother, the condottiero Pier Saccone Tarlati di Pietramala, was designed by Giotto, who recommended to Pier Saccone the Sienese sculptors Agnolo and Agostino to execute it. In the 3rd to 4th century, Arezzo became an episcopal seat: it is one of the few cities whose succession of bishops are known by name without interruption to the present day, in part because they were the feudal lords of the city in the Middle Ages. The Roman city was demolished, partly through the Gothic War and the invasion of the Lombards, partly dismantled, as elsewhere throughout Europe, and the stones reused for fortifications by the Aretines. Only the amphitheater remained. The commune of Arezzo threw off the control of its bishop in 1098. Until 1384, Arezzo maintained itself as an independent city-state, generally Ghibelline in tendency, thus opposing Guelph Florence. In 1252 the city founded its university, the Studium. After the rout of the Battle of Campaldino (1289), which saw the death of Bishop Guglielmino Ubertini, the fortunes of Ghibelline Arezzo started to ebb, apart from a brief period under the Tarlati family, chief among them Guido Tarlati, who became bishop in 1312 and maintained good relations with the Ghibelline party. The Tarlati sought support in an alliance with Forlì and its overlords, the Ordelaffi, but unavailingly: Arezzo yielded to Florentine domination in 1384; its individual history was submerged in that of Florence and the Medicean Grand Duchy of Tuscany. During this period Piero della Francesca worked in the church of San Francesco di Arezzo producing the splendid frescoes, recently restored, which are Arezzo's most famous works, but afterwards the city began an economical and cultural decay, that had the effect of preserving its medieval centre.				Annunciation

Giorgio Vasari \| Lives of the Artists \| Ambrogio Lorenzetti
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's City by the Sea is one of the treasures of Sienese art. It's also a questionable picture. What kind of scene is it? Some people see it as a fragment cut from a larger image. Some see it as an independent landscape. Either way, it is not isolated. City by the Sea has a companion image, Castle on a Lake, of the same size and shape, and with a view that seems approximately continuous. Both paintings are now attributed to Sassetta, as being part of the Arte della Lana Altarpiece. The triptych, the first known work by Sassetta, was commissioned by the "Arte della Lana", i.e. the woolmerchants' guild for the church of the Carmelite Order in Siena in 1423. Art in Tuscany \| Sassetta Great Works: City By The Sea (c.1340), Ambrogio Lorenzetti		Sasetta, (earlier attributed to Ambrogio Lorenzetti), City by the Sea (view of Talamone), Siena, Pinacoteca

Podere Santa Pia, situated in in the utmost quietness of the Alta Maremma, is a beautiful stone farmhouse only 2 km away from Castiglioncello Bandini. Ssome of the towns in the area which are worth a stroll around include Arcidosso, Castel del Piano, Roccalbegna, Semproniano and the spa town of Saturnia. San Quirico d'Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano and Villa La Foce make Podere Santa Pia a perfect Tuscan getaway. The strategic position allows many day trips, including a day trip to Montalcino to taste some wines in the cellars of several of the top Brunello producers. Holiday houses in Tuscany \| Podere Santa Pia \| \| Residency in Tuscany for writers and artists

Podere Santa Pia	Pienza and the Val d'Orcia	Century-old olive trees, between Podere Santa Pia and Cinigiano


Monte Cucco wine region	Cipresses between Montalcino and Pienza	Sovicille


Wines in southern Tuscany	Arezzo	Sunsets in Tuscany



Podere Santa Pia, a spacious, comfortable and well furnished holiday home, offers its guests a breathtaking views over the Maremma hills, up to the Tyrrhenian coast and Monte Christo

Pieve di Santa Maria, Arezzo
Pieve di Santa Maria, completely built of sandstone and situated between Corso Italia and the Piazza Grande behind, is one of the largest and most attractive Romanesque parish churches (or peeve in Italian) in Tuscany. The church has a magnificent Romanesque arcaded facade adorned with dozens of carved columns, each uniquely decorated. The campanile, dating from 1330 is therefore called the campanile dale cento buche (hundred holed bellower). The Romanesque facade was originally simple, but, with the rise of Pisan influence, a series of blind arches surmounted by three sets of horizontally crowned porticos were added to the lower floor. There is a wealth of sculptures of various origins: worthy of note are the 13th century composition dedicated to the Madonna in the lunette of the main portal and the basrelief above the central doorway. These carved reliefs known as the Cyclo dei Mesi represent the months of the year. January's figure has two faces: one looks back on the previous year and the other looks forward. Inside, the undoubted highlight is Pietro Lorenzetti's famous polyptych, Madonna and Saints (1320–24), painted by Pietro Lorenzetti for bishop Guido Tarlati. Below the altar is a 14th-century silver bust reliquary of the city's patron saint, San Donato. Other treasures include a 13th-century crucifix by Margarito di Arezzo, which hangs near the door to the sacristy, and a fresco on a column behind the alter (left-hand side) of Saints Francesco and Domenico by the early 14th century artist of Giotto's school Andrea di Nerio (1331–69). Address Street Corso Italia 7 Churches in Tuscany \| Arezzo \| Santa Maria della Pieve		Pieve di Santa Maria, Arezzo