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BALZO The village grew up around 1600 when, because of atmospheric conditions, the population moved here from the Castello. In 1639 the house of the Podestà (a kind of mayor and those of some officials were to be found in this suburb. Church of San Bernardino da Siena The church is a XVII century building on a rectangular floor plan. Inside Tuscan tufa columns raised on high pedestals divide the main body of the church into three naves, but the central nave that is formed in this way is not bound by two longitudinal walls in which arches of communication open with the side aisles: the columns of the church of Balzo support three frontal partitions that open three arches, each on the aisles that support an imperceptible flat suspended ceiling set in arched sections. A moulded cornice joined to two corner pilaster strips decorates the flanks of the tribune and the wings of the presbytery. There are also two architectonic elements that come from older constructions. The first is the XIV century portal of the façade, its archivolt decorated with a frieze of palmettes. The second element is a re-used bas-relief on the left side of the tribune. It portrays a male and a female figure intent on holding the oriflamme of S. Bernardino of Siena. Stylised floral motifs complete the composition at the corners. In place of the terminal part a moulded cornice is seen, which has also been salvaged. The insertion of figures as caryatids is original; they have a supple pose that suggests an elaborate movement of their garments. The work can be dated to the XVI century and is connected with the sculpture styles of the Acquasanta area.Palazzo Branconi The mansion presents a harmonious, characteristic façade, the constitutive elements of which are organised on the basis of a simple and effective compositional logic. The horizontal trajectories of the stringcourses divide the surface into three bands whose widths decrease progressively from the bottom upwards, giving due importance to the bottom band that houses the entrance portal. The portal and the windows are placed along three axes, one central and two side symmetrical. The decorative elements stand out because they consist for the main part of re-used elements of the XVI century that with all probability come from one or more destroyed buildings of old Balzo. The portal is characterised by a monolithic lintel surmounted by a lobed mute, enriched by a very light figure of a lily. On the surface of the block, the following inscription stands out: INVIDIA DIO E NON COMPASSIONE/1640 which means “Do not have a tearful and reverent attitude, rather force yourself to shape your soul to the image of God”. On the jambstones there are elements of re-use (two inscribed rosettes and a sun symbol. At the sides of the portal two re-used renaissance windows can be observed, with grills and of different dimensions. The inside of the building shows it to be a patriarchal house. On the ground floor there is the vaulted entrance hall paved with slabs, the barrel vaulted cellar with basal structure and floor formed by the living rock; the original staircase that communicates with the upper floors; the kitchen with fireplace. On the second floor a closable walled single-lancet window that held the family savings is seen.Pineta Taliani The Pineta (pinewood) Taliani is just some tens of metres from Palazetto Branconi. Now it belongs to the Borough of Montegallo which has seen to transforming it into a park equipped with a hypogeum structure for exhibitions. The vegetation found there makes it an important didactic tool that can be used to highlight the particular features of a pure conifer wood. Bibliography:
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