Siena Guide Italy

Palaces, monuments and places

Palaces, monuments and places

Fascinating historical buildings and charming places:

• Palazzo Pubblico
  This wonderful building was completed at the beginning of the 14th century.
  The Salone del Mappamondo, the largest room in the palace, entirely filled with frescoes by Simone Martini and the Sala dei Nove, decorated by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, with the “Allegoria del buon governo” and the “Allegoria e gli effetti del cattivo governo”, considered to be the first profane cycle in western art in history, are to be noted.
  
• Archbishop’s Palace
  This wonderful building stands just a short distance from the Duomo and is home to the splendid panel by Lorenzetti that depicts the “Madonna del Latte”.
  
• The Mangia's Tower (Torre del Mangia)
  The Torre del Mangia stands alongside the Palazzo Pubblico. It was built in the period 1338-1348 and was called by this name in honor of the nickname given to its first bell-ringer, known as Mangiaguadagni. The top of the tower can be reached by climbing 400 steps. At the top you have a view over the entire city.
  
• Santa Maria della Scala
  The building Santa Maria della Scala takes up an area of about 350,000 square meters and was originally built as a city hospital, one of the first to be built in Italy. Today, many parts of the building have been recovered thanks to a massive restoration program, and exhibition spaces for Siena and international artists are now available. Inside the building it is possible to see three chapels, the Cappella del Manto, the Cappella della Madonna, the Cappella del Sacro Chiodo and the Church of the Santissima Annunziata.
  
• The Botanic Gardens
  The Botanic Gardens date back to 1588, when the “Giardino dei Semplici” was set up, near to the Santa Maria della Scala hospital. This was the start of the city’s first Botanic Gardens, where doctors and scientists of that time could study the therapeutic properties of many officinal plants. Starting from the second half of the 18th century, several plants from all over the world were added to the garden, which was then turned into the “University Botanic Gardens”. Today the area dedicated to the garden is more than three times that of the initial garden, and holds thousands of exotic and non-exotic plants.
  
• Piazza del Campo
  This is one of Italy’s most famous squares, and probably the one with the most original shape. Piazza del Campo stands on the site that was once an ancient Roman forum, opposite Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia. The area was initially intended for a city market place and only began to take on the dignity required of a true square in 1288. From 1327 to 1349, paving work was carried out in the square, using special red bricks. The square, more commonly known as “il Campo” locally, is surrounded by Medieval buildings, open-air coffee shops, restaurants and trattorias, and in August it is the location of the famous Palio.
  

Go to directories of the Web Sites

• Art & Culture in Siena

Go to the itinerary:

• An intense weekend
• The Siena Chianti area
• Val d'Orcia