It derives from the Mangia tower which dominates the neighborhood, the red crusaders and silver crusader were granted in 1889 by Umberto I in memory of his coming to Siena in 1887.
An elephant draped in a red saddle-cloth with a white cross, standing on grass. On the back of the elephant is a tower flying a red pennant flag with a silver cross.
Crimson with pale blue and white arabesques.
Power as well as might.
Strength.
Woolcombers
3
Saint James the Major and Saint Anne, 25 July (celebration on the last Sunday of July).
SanMartino
"L'Elefante" (The elephant), Via Salicotto, 92
Via Salicotto, 78
via degli Archi, 11
Saint Giacomo church erected in via Salicotto by the Republic of Siena in memory of the victory against the armies of de' Medici and the Pope in the battle of Porta Camollia in 1526. The building was completed in 1530 and mass has been celebrated there since 1536. The Elephant Contrada had its own Oratory by the will of the inhabitants of Salicotto and the rulers of the city, who even in times of serious crisis - the end of the Republic was approaching - wanted to build the church as a thanksgiving to the Immaculate Virgin, under whose protection the battle of Porta Camollia had been fought against the Florentine and pontifical troops: it was the feast of San Giacomo Maggiore on 25 July 1526. And precisely to this saint, who will become the patron saint, this place of worship was consecrated, built where there was a house purchased by the Contrada. The construction, which began in 1531 (completed five years later), was also commissioned by the Fraternity of the Immaculate Conception and Saints James and Christopher, built to remember the victorious battle and which provided the most substantial help in building. Among the most convinced supporters of the initiative was the artist Giovanni di Lorenzo who had purchased a house in Salicotto and who in 1528 had completed a panel depicting the Immaculate Conception and the Battle of Camollia for the nearby church of San Martino . In addition, the artist had been the author of the gigantic banner radiated with the figure of the Virgin who, according to tradition, had propitiated the victory of the Sienese against the papal army. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the district were taxing and recovering stones for construction, including those from the destruction of the "Torrazzo" of San Prospero. Embellishments, ornaments with works of art, extensions and renovations lasted for many decades after the inauguration, at least until 1680 as shown by numerous payment receipts. Only in the early eighteenth century did the Church take on its current appearance internally and for about a century it was not interested in important additions. In 1835, on the occasion of the feast of the patron saint, the new organ built by the Agates (like other organs present in the Oratories of the Contrade) was inaugurated. In 1851 the high altar was enriched with the frontal carved by Antonio Manetti. In 1894 the famous architect Giuseppe Partini - also born in Salicotto - restored the facade and part of the interior. The bell tower was built in 1901 based on a design by Agenore Socini. The roof was consolidated in 1955 and recent renovations have made the Oratorio della Torre one of the most beautiful and rich in works of art in the city. The two works of Rutilio Manetti are precious ("The Martyrdom of St. James" and "The Crucifixion"). But the most important work is by Giovanni di Lorenzo: "The Blessed Virgin Immaculate between Saints James and Christopher" (1545), today enriched by a carved and gilded wooden tabernacle created by Pasquale Leoncini in 1876.
The Contrada's baptismal font is the work of sculptor Mauro Berrettini (1984); it replaced the one sulpted by Fausto Corsini in 1954.