The church of San Bartolomeo a Ruota is in the village of Ruota, in the municipality of Capannori. It dates from the eleventh century: it has a single nave with an apse and has been altered over the centuries. Only the apse clearly keeps its medieval character; the façade and sides were almost entirely rebuilt reusing the original material, including some blocks decorated with interlace.
What to see
The apse has masonry in regular courses of squared blocks and a crown of hanging arches on corbels, a later version of archaic decoration. Inside is the large panel by Vincenzo Frediani with the Madonna enthroned between Saints Bartholomew, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and Apollonia, dated 1488 in the inscription painted at the base of the throne.
In the painting the artist gives up the architectural framework of sacred conversations in the manner of Ghirlandaio and Lorenzo di Credi: only the throne and the background landscape remain as reference points, while the saints, large and subtly expressive, show the influence of Filippino Lippi. The panel sits in a tabernacle frame with a lunette and predella by Zacchia da Vezzano, dated 1544. The church also has a wooden Madonna enthroned with the Child from the mid-fourteenth century.
Visiting
The bell tower holds two old bells cast by Ludovico Bimbi of Villa Collemandina, the small one in 1758 and the large one in 1768. Opening times should be checked with the parish.
Our editors' tip
The church also keeps a processional banner by Frediani himself, painted on one side with the Visitation and on the other with Saint Bartholomew.
