Parish church of San Donnino a Villamagna

After a road that winds its way up through dense forests of holm oaks and cypresses, interspersed with olive groves, you reach the small village of Villamagna, which has developed over the centuries around the splendid parish church dedicated to the martyr Donnino, one of three such churches in the Ripoli area.

Probably founded in the 8th century, the church is first mentioned in an 11th-century document, as its Romanesque features still indicate, despite a renovation carried out during the 14th century. 

Externally, it is characterised by a simple gabled façade built of Alberese stone blocks, whilst the bell tower, with its three storeys of mullioned windows, is very elegant. The interior, laid out in a basilica style, is divided into three naves by round-arched openings supported by rectangular pillars; the central nave is closed off by a semicircular apse.

A number of 15th-century frescoes can be seen at the head of the right-hand aisle: a Crucifixion with Mary Magdalene and Saint Donnino, and an important panel painting depicting the Enthroned Madonna and Saints, attributed to David Ghirlandaio (1452–1525).