Things to do in Siena
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Scuola Leonardo da Vinci
Italian-language school with supplementary cultural and culinary options.
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Treno Natura
A great way to see the stunning scenery of the Crete Senese, south of Siena. The line dates back to the 19th century but trains now run exclusively for tourists and are staffed by volunteers. The route loops from Siena, through Asciano, across to the Val d'Orcia and Stazione di Monte Antico and back to Siena. Trains stop at Asciano and Monte Antico and connect with the service from Florence. They only run for about 20 days a year so check the website or ask at the tourist office.
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Antica Osteria da Divo
This place plays background jazz that is as smooth as the walls are rough-hewn. At the lower, cellar level you’re dining amid Etruscan tombs. The inventive menu includes dishes such as cannelloni with ricotta, spinach, grilled sweet peppers, tomatoes and Tuscan pesto sauce.
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Kopa Kabana
Flout the places with enviable locations and be rewarded with absurd mountains of Siena’s freshest gelato, starting at €1.70. A second location is at Via San Pietro 20.
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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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Al Marsili
One of the city's classiest restaurants, here you'll find white-smocked waiters dishing up traditional Sienese cuisine such as pici all'aglione (fresh Sienese pasta, with a garlic and tomato sauce). The restaurant also offers more innovative dishes such as stuffed panzerotti with truffle.
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Osteria Le Logge
This place changes its menu of creative Tuscan cuisine almost daily. In the downstairs dining room, once a pharmacy, bottles are arranged in cases, floor to ceiling, like books in a library; there are over 18,000 more in the cellars so you won’t go thirsty. There’s also a large streetside terrace.
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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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Enzo
Classic pictures of Siena decorate the walls, while classy settings decorate the tables. A variety of tasting menus relieve one from the need to choose from the lengthy menu, while curiosities like the 'deconstructed cannoli' will keep you seated for dessert. Dinner reservations a must.
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