Sights in Siena
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Duomo Nuovo
In 1339 the city's leaders launched a plan to enlarge the cathedral and create one of Italy's largest places of worship. Known as the Duomo Nuovo, the remains of this unrealised project are on Piazza Jacopo della Quercia, at the eastern side of the main cathedral. The daring plan, to build an immense new nave with the present cathedral becoming the transept, was scotched by the plague of 1348.
The cathedral's interior is truly stunning. Walls and pillars continue the black-and-white-stripe theme of the exterior, while the vaults are painted blue with gold stars. High along the walls of the nave is a long series of papal busts. After looking up, look down…and you'll see th…
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Piazza del Campo
Resembling a colossal, medieval bathroom sink, the sloping Piazza del Campo has been Siena's civic and social centre ever since it was staked out by the Council of Nine in the mid-14th century.
The piazza was the site of a former Roman marketplace, and its pie-piece paving design is divided into nine sectors to represent the number of members of the ruling council. This is the city's primary gathering point - locals sun themselves and gossip here, while tourists parade through, awestruck, often stopping for a good sit-down and a beverage at a terrace table. If you find the piazza irksomely congested at lunch time on a summer day, you'll need a powerful sedative to cope wi…
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Libreria Piccolomini
Off the north aisle of the Duomo Nuovo, the Libreria Piccolomini is one of the cathedral's great treasures. Pope Pius III built this compact hall to house the books of his uncle, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, who became Pope Pius II; only a series of huge choral tomes remains on display.
The walls of the hall have vividly coloured narrative frescoes by Bernardino Pinturicchio. They depict events in the life of Piccolomini, starting from his early days as a secretary to an Italian bishop on a mission to Basle, through to his ordination as pope and eventually his death in Ancona while trying to mount a crusade against the Turks. In the centre of the hall is a group of statues k…
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Palazzo Comunale
At the lowest point of the square (or the tap of the aforementioned metaphorical sink), stands the spare, elegant Palazzo Comunale, conceived by the Council of Nine as a nerve centre for the republican government, uniting the offices and courts in one building, thus greatly reducing the symbolic and actual power of the feudal nobles.
Dating from 1297, the palazzo is one of the most graceful Gothic buildings in Italy. The ground level was constructed in stone, the upper, crenulated levels in brick, with an ingeniously designed concave façade to mirror the opposing convex curve formed by the piazza. Also known as the Palazzo Pubblico, or town hall, the palazzo was purpose-…
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Museo Civico
Inside Palazzo Comunale is the Museo Civico, occupying rooms richly decorated by artists of the Sienese school. Of particular note is Simone Martini’s famous Maestà (Virgin Mary in Majesty), on display in the Sala del Mappamondo. Completed in 1315, it features the Madonna beneath a canopy surrounded by saints and angels and is Martini’s first known canvas. In the Sala dei Nove are Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s didactic frescoes depicting Allegories of Good and Bad Government, contrasting the harmony of good government with the – alas, much deteriorated – depiction of the privations and trials of those subject to bad rule.
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Duomo
Siena’s cathedral is one of Italy’s greatest Gothic churches. Begun in 1196, it was completed by 1215, although work continued on features such as the apse and dome well into the 13th century. The magnificent facade of white, green and red polychrome marble was begun by Giovanni Pisano – who completed only the lower section before his death – and finished towards the end of the 14th century. The mosaics in the gables are 19th-century additions. The statues of philosophers and prophets by Pisano above the lower section are copies; the originals are in the adjacent Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana.
In 1339 the city’s leaders planned to enlarge the cathedral and crea…
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Museo Archeologico
The Museo Archeologico is within Santa Maria della Scala. Most of the collection consists of pieces found near Siena, ranging from elaborate Etruscan alabaster funerary urns to gold Roman coins. In between you'll see some statuary, much of it Etruscan, a variety of household items, votive statuettes in bronze and even a pair of playing dice.
The collection is well presented, and the surroundings - twisting, arched tunnels - perfectly complement it and are a cool blessing on stifling-hot summer days.Admission to the museum is included in the price for Santa Maria della Scala.
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Palazzo Chigo-Saracini
The magnificent curving Gothic façade of the Palazzo Chigo-Saracini is in part a travesty, the result of 'restoration' in the 18th and 19th centuries to re-create the medieval feel. From the tower, which is the genuine article apart from its brick crenellations, they say a young boy with particularly good eyesight watched the Battle of Montaperti in 1260 and shouted down details of the home side's progress against the Florentines to eager crowds in the streets below.
(The palazzo is the headquarters of Accademia Musicale Chigiana).
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Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
The 13th-century Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, a few streets south of the Pinacoteca Nazionale, was originally designed by the Dutch Vanvitelli, chief architect to the King of Naples. Its richly rococo interior dates from the 18th century, after the church had been gutted by fire. The second altar on the south aisle has a superb Adoration of the Crucifix by Perugino while the Piccolomini chapel's jewel is Il Sodoma's Adoration of the Magi.
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Loggia dei Mercanzia
The 15th-century triple-arched balcony Loggia dei Mercanzia, where merchants used to plot deals, is worth a visit. From here, strike east along Banchi di Sotto to pass Palazzo Piccolomini, a Renaissance palazzo housing the city's archives. Further east are the 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi, with frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti in a chapel off the north transept, and the 14th-century Porta Romana.
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Palazzo Tolomei
North of Loggia dei Mercanti on Banchi di Sopra, the 13th-century Palazzo Tolomei dominates Piazza Tolomei. Further north, Piazza Salimbeni is bounded by Palazzo Tantucci, Gothic Palazzo Salimbeni (prestigious head office of Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank), and the Renaissance Palazzo Spannocchi, from where 29 finely carved busts stare down at you from beneath the eaves.
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Crypt
Just north of Nuovo Duomo and down a flight of steps is the crypt, a room below the cathedral’s pulpit discovered in 1999. Its walls are completely covered with pintura a secco (‘dry painting’) dating back to the 1200s. There’s some 180 sq metres’ worth, depicting several biblical stories, including the Passion of Jesus and the Crucifixion.
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Battistero di San Giovanni
While this baptistery’s Gothic facade has remained unfinished, the interior is richly decorated with frescoes. The centrepiece is a marble font by Jacopo della Quercia, decorated with bronze panels in relief and depicting the life of St John the Baptist. Artists include Lorenzo Ghiberti (Baptism of Christ and St John in Prison) and Donatello (Herod’s Feast).
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Santa Maria della Scala
In the basement of this former pilgrims’ hospital is the Sala dei Pellegrinaio clad in vivid secular frescoes (quite a relief after so much spirituality all around town) by Domenico di Bartolo, lauding the good works of the hospital and its patrons. There’s also a collection of Roman and Etruscan remains.
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Palazzo delle Papesse
Change eras with a visit to this contemporary art gallery if you've had your fill of medieval religious art. The gallery houses a number of permanent pieces from the likes of Micha Ullman, Perino Vele and Antonio Catelani, mixed in with ever-changing exhibitions. The rooftop terrace has stunning views.
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Fortezza Medicea
The Fortezza Medicea, also known as the Forte di Santa Barbara, is typical of those built in the early years of the grand duchy. The Sienese could not have been given a more obvious reminder of who was in charge than this huge Medici bastion, raised on the orders of Cosimo I de' Medici in 1560.
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Panorama del Facciatone
For a great panoramic view, haul yourself up the 131-step, narrow corkscrew stairway to the Panorama del Facciatone at the top of the facade of the putative Nuovo Duomo. A combined ticket for Museo Dell’opera Metropolitana and panorama costs €10 and is valid for three days.
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Fonte Gaia
In 1346 water first bubbled forth from the Fonte Gaia in the upper part of the square. The fountain's panels are reproductions; the severely weathered originals, sculpted by Jacopo della Quercia in the early 15th century, are on display in the Complesso Museale di Santa Maria della Scala.
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Pinacoteca Nazionale
Within the 15th-century Palazzo Buonsignori, this art gallery is a showcase for the greatest of Sienese artists. Look for the Madonna col Bambino (Madonna with Child) by Simone Martini, and a series of Madonnas by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
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Casa di Santa Caterina
Here St Catherine of Siena was born and lived with her parents plus, says the legend, 24 siblings. The rooms, converted into small chapels in the 15th century, are decorated with frescoes and paintings by many Sienese artists, including Sodoma.
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Chiesa di San Francesco
Along Via dei Rossi, is Chiesa di San Francesco, with its vast single nave. It's suffered over the years - from a devastating 17th-century fire and use as army barracks.
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Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana
This museum, also known as Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, is in what would have been the southern aisle of the nave of the Nuovo Duomo.
Inside, formerly adorning the cathedral, are the 12 statues of prophets and philosophers by Giovanni Pisano that decorated the facade. The highlight is Duccio di Buoninsegna’s striking early 14th-century Maestà, which is painted on both sides as a screen for the cathedral’s high altar. The front and back have now been separated and the panels depicting the story of the Passion hang opposite the Maestà. Other artists represented are Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Taddeo di Bartolo, and there’s also a rich collection of tapestries a…
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Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi
The 13th-century Basilica di Santa Maria dei Servi has frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti in a chapel off the north transept.
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Oratorio di San Bernardino
Beside Chiesa di San Francesco is the Oratorio di San Bernardino with its small museum of religious artworks.
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Torre del Mangia
From Palazzo Comunale soars its graceful bell tower, the Torre del Mangia, 102m high, completed in 1297.
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