House of Simone the Pharisee

The chapel of the House of Simon the Pharisee most likely dates back to the second half of the sixteenth century. The unusual two-roomed architectural form, with a main space and a smaller, secondary space, makes it look like a small residential building. According to the most recent studies, the sculptural group inside the chapel can be attributed to Agnolo di Polo, and it depicts the scene in which Jesus encounters a sinful woman in the house of Simon the Pharisee.

It is one of the most beautiful scenes in San Vivaldo, and the elaborate sculptural composition of the piece certainly provokes the emotional participation of the viewer. Two inscriptions on the wall display the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisee, creating what might be called a sixteenth-century comic strip, which is the only one of its kind in San Vivaldo. The fresco on the lunette above the statues, now barely visible, represents Mary Magdalene fleeing Jerusalem towards Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, an episode recorded in the Legenda Aurea by Jacobus da Varagine.