Church and convent of Saints Cosma and Damiano al Vivaio

It was in 1516, during Pope Leone X's stop in Incisa, that the Franciscans obtained from him the permission to build a new convent and a church where they already ran a hospice, provided that it was dedicated to Saints Cosma and Damiano, the patrons of the Medici. To this end, the Castellani family gave the necessary plot of land and the Cambini family financed the enterprise, so that today we can see the coats of arms of the two families placed on the facade of the church.

The Church of Saints Cosma and Damiano was built where, already at the end of the 13th century, there was a parish dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a cloister of nuns, who gave assistance to wayfarers and pilgrims. It is also assumed that the name Vivaio (fish farm) instead comes from the fact that in the 15th century, in addition to the Augustinian nunnery by now in decline, there was supposed to be a fish pool.

The facade was expanded following the construction of the Santissimo Crocifisso chapel (1584) by the marquis Simone Capponi and Tommaso Tassi, while the imposing portico, with big arcades placed on Tuscanic pillars in pietra serena, was built in 1592 at the expense of other benefactors. Dating to the early 18th century is the large organ in the counter-facade, created by the famous Roman organ builder Lorenzo Testa. That was the time of the main renovation work in the convent and in the church, following the design by the Florentine architect Giovannozzo Giovannozzi: the previous bare wooden roof frame of the nave was replaced by a walled vault adorned with painted decorations by Sigismondo Betti, the windows were embellished with stuccos by Alessandro Domenico Geri and alternated with a series of canvases with Franciscan saints painted by Giovan Andrea Brunori.

The church then took on a late-baroque style and, in the 20th century, the minor friars were replaced by the ministers of the Focolare Movement who today share the convent with the diocesan priests.

The religious complex also features a cloister, accessible only upon request, whereas the park opposite, distinguished by a stone tank, is always open and accessible during the day.