Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Exploring Siena
Rinaldo between 1338-48, it
is named after the first bell
ringer, who was nicknamed
Mangiaguadagni
(literally “eat
the profits”) because of his
great idleness. (It was the bell
ringer's responsibility to warn
the citizens of impending
danger.) There are 505 steps
to the top of the tower, which
has views across Tuscany.
Siena is a city of steep medieval alleys surrounding the
Piazza del Campo. The buildings around the square
symbolize the golden age of the city between 1260 and
1348, when wealthy citizens contributed to a major
programme of civic building. Siena's decline began in
1348 when the Black Death hit the city, killing a third
of the population; 200 years later many more died in
an 18-month siege ending in defeat by the Florentines.
The victors repressed all further development and
building in Siena, which remained frozen in time,
crammed with many renovated medieval buildings.
P
Palazzo Pubblico
Piazza del Campo 1.
Tel
055 29 26
14.
Museo Civico
Daily. Mar:
10am-6pm; Apr-Oct: 10am-
7pm; Nov-Feb: 10am-5:30pm.
#
¢
2 Jul, 16 Aug, 25 Dec.
&
The Palazzo Pubblico serves
as the town hall, but the state
rooms are open to the public.
The main council chamber is
called the Sala del Mappa-
mondo, after a map of the
world painted by Ambrogio
Lorenzetti in the early 1300s.
One wall is covered by
Simone Martini's
Maestà
(Virgin in Majesty). Painted
in 1315, it depicts the Virgin
Mary as the Queen of
Heaven, attended by the
Apostles, saints and angels.
Opposite is Martini's fresco
of the mercenary Guidoriccio
da Fogliano (1330).
The walls of the adjacent
chapel are covered with
frescoes of the
Life of the
Virgin
(1407) by Taddeo di
Bartolo, and the choir stalls
(1428) feature wooden panels
inlaid with biblical scenes.
The Sala della Pace
contains the famous
Allegory
of Good and Bad Government
,
a pair of frescoes by Ambrogio
Lorenzetti, finished in 1338.
In
The Good Government
(see pp46-7)
civic life
flourishes, while
The Bad
Government
reveals ruins
and rubbish-strewn streets.
The Sala del Risorgimento is
Aerial view of Siena's Piazza del Campo and surrounding palazzi
P
Piazza del Campo
The shell-shaped 12th-century
Piazza del Campo is bordered
by elegant
palazzi
. It has an
elaborate fountain as its focal
point, the Fonte Gaia, a
rectangular marble basin
decorated by statues. The
fountain now seen in the
square is a 19th-century copy
of the original, which was
carved by Jacopo della
Quercia in 1409-19. This was
removed to preserve it from
the ravages of the weather.
The reliefs on the fountain
depict Adam and Eve, the
Madonna and Child, and the
Virtues. Water is fed into it by
a 25-km (15-mile) aqueduct,
which has brought fresh
water into the city from the
hills since the 14th century.
P
Torre del Mangia
Piazza del Campo.
Tel
055 29 26 14.
#
10am-4pm (mid-Mar-Oct:
to 7pm).
&
The belltower to the left of the
Palazzo Pubblico is the second-
highest in Italy, at 102 m
(330 ft). Built by the brothers
Muccio and Francesco di
¢
25 Dec.
Fonte Gaia in Piazza del Campo
