Siena was one of the powerful city-states that dominated
medieval Italy, along with Florence and the Papal States (Rome), plus
others. Siena controlled much of the
southern Tuscan region that we explored, and its influences are obvious in
those towns. For centuries the Sienese
have depicted the city as a she-wolf, suckling her citizens; this image appears
throughout the city.
The main square is Piazza il Campo, dominated by the Palazza
Pubblica (City Hall), which was built in 1340 and stands 330 feet tall. Siena is the birthplace of secular society,
separate from pope or king, and the City Hall and Tower represent Siena’s power
and pride in their independence. The
square is actually fan-shaped, with the City Hall at the flat end, and the
Fountain of Joy at the top of the fan.
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| Fountain of Joy |
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| il Campo |
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| Palazza Pubblica (City Hall) |
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| She-wolf symbol of Siena |
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| Palazza Pubblica |
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| Palazza Pubblica entrance |
Siena has 17 historic neighborhoods, or Cantrade, that
maintain a strong sense of independence.
There are plaques, flags and animal mascots on nearly every street with
the insignia of the Contrade. For
hundreds of years, these Contrade have competed in the famous Palio horse race
around il Capo. Before we were married,
Tammy and I visited Siena, not knowing that the day we visited was the Palio,
and the town was so crowded we had to leave without seeing anything. Before leaving, we snuck under the bleachers
and caught a glimpse of the horse race.
Over 30 years later we finally got to see the sites of Siena!
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| Contrada mascot |
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| Contrada banner |
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| Street with Contrada flags |
For a medieval city, the streets are surprisingly wide and
“relatively” straight. The narrower
streets often have arches overheard, providing support for the buildings on
both sides. The main streets such as Via
di Citta are lined with former Palazzos (palaces of the wealthy). In many cases, you can see a mix of
architectural styles where a Renaissance façade was placed on a Gothic building
that was erected on top of a Romanesque (medieval) structure. [picture of Piazza Independeza]
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| Porta Tufi |
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| Street leading to il Campo |
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| Via di Citta |
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| Piazza Independenza |
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| Palazza Chigri on Via di Citta |
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Palazzo Chigri
courtyard and well |
The Duomo (Cathedral) is one of the most impressive we’ve
seen, with unique white and green marble.
The floors are elaborate mosaics that depict religious events and
stories from the old and new testaments; see pictures below of Siena depicted as a she-wolf with lesser city states encircling her, and Slaughter of the Innocents depicting Herod ordering the killing of all babies to prevent the coming of the Messiah. The heads of 172 popes, from St Peter through the church construction in
the 13th century, look down on you from above. Paintings by Donatello and sculptures by
Bernini adorn the church. The marble
pulpit from 1268 is incredible, as is the ceiling of the Piccolomini
Library.
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| Duomo nave, towards altar |
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| Duomo nave, toward entrance |
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Duomo facade (note
unfinished nave to the right) |
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| Siena as she-wolf mosaic |
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| Some of the 172 Popes |
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| Duomo Altar |
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| Bernini's Mary Magdelene |
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| Carrara marble pulpit from 1268 |
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| Piccolomini ceiling |
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| Three Graces |
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| Slaughter of the Innocents |
The adjoining Duomo museum has some amazing relics from the cathedral, such as the original Duccio stained glass window from 1288 and his "Maesta" Passion of Christ. Donatello's Madonna and Child is a masterpiece.
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| Madonna and Child |
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| Passion of Christ |
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| Duccio's stained-glass window |
As massive as the Duomo is, at the height of Siena’s power, civic
leaders planned to greatly expand the church to be the largest in the Christian
world. The current cathedral would have been just the transept of the new
cathedral. The massive nave was started
before funding ran out, and now the empty shell can be seen to the east of the
church (to the right when facing the main entrance).
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Unfinished nave, with 'new' main
entrance on right and nave wall on left |
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View down the missing nave
from the 'new' entrance |
Other sites:
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| il Campo from the Duomo |
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Loggio della Mercanzia
(merchant's league) |
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| Siena rooftops |
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| View of Dominican church |
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| It was very hot in Siena! |
