SACRED ART. – Manifestations of art in B. are not found before the Romanesque period. To that period indeed belong the church of S. Silvestro (1195) and that of S. Michele Arcangelo, works of a Binello, fairly well preserved in their essential architectural lines, and rich, especially the latter, in sculptural decoration on the façade.
Romanesque-Gothic is the church of S. Maria in Laurenza, recorded as early as 1293; slightly later is the church of S. Francesco, which preserves its original features almost exclusively in the façade.
Early 14th century, if not the end of the 13th, belongs the Palazzo dei Consoli, which has on the lower level a loggia with pointed arches and ribbed vaults.
Later, but still of the 14th century, is the church of S. Domenico, which in the apse area holds frescoes and wooden sculptures from the late 13th century; of the same period is the church of S. Agostino. A modest construction from the late 15th century is the church of the Annunziata, where there is a glazed terracotta altarpiece depicting the Annunciation, a work by the della Robbia family from the 16th century. In 1640 the church of S. Margherita was rebuilt, which has as its only notable feature the Martyrdom of the Saint, a painting by Camassei.
Of the 17th century is the church of the Misericordia, where a 16th-century wooden statue of the Christ of the Rosary is preserved. The church of S. Filippo was built and decorated in the 18th century; the frescoes are attributed to the Florentine painter G. B. Michelini.