Siena : tourist guide

This is a list of the main attractions of Siena with, so to speak, opening hours, which are sometimes adjusted.

The most important advice for every visitor, however, is to walk, walk and wander again and get lost is also allowed. This is the only way to discover nooks and crannies, be surprised by astonishing vistas through alleys, discover in Salicotto a rare mini-park created in the 1930s during the redevelopment of the neighborhood or what remains of the ghetto and, if you’re lucky that the gate is open, the seemingly endless tunnel under higher level houses in which the Torraioli store their tables and chairs for their feasts.

Neighborhoods – Contrade

A map of the city is necessary, preferably with the borders of the contrade. In Siena, neighborhoods have double names: the original place name and that of the contrada.

Aquila	Casato	Nicchio	Pispini
Bruco	Via del Comune	Oca	Fontebranda
Chiocciola	San Marco	Onda	Malborghetto
Civetta	Castellare	Pantera	Stalloreggi
Drago	Camporegio	Selva	Vallepiatta
Giraffa	Provenzano	Tartuca	Castelvecchio
Istrice	Camollia	Torre	Salicotto
Leocorno	Pantaneto	Valdimontone	Via dei Servi
Lupa	Vallerozzi

Use the checkmarks to turn certain things on and off to make it clearer.
You can also tap on a neighborhood to zoom in.
Open in a new window via siena.palio.be

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PIAZZA DEL CAMPO and Surroundings

Any visit to Siena begins or ends in Piazza del Campo. The square is largely a creation of the early 14th century when Siena was ruled by I Nove or The Nine Lords. Shortly before 1300, they bought land and a few houses on a meadow intended to become the new city centre.

Palazzo Pubblico or Comunale

Between 1297 and 1310, the Palazzo Pubblico or Comunale or City Hall was built. An interior visit is highly recommended. One enters through the cortile or large courtyard where the Palio is presented and where during the Palio days the horses are tied to one of the 10 pillars in anticipation of the race. The most beautiful things are of course the frescoes from the early 14th century. Two rooms are a must : the Sala del Mappamondo or Room of the World Map. Ambrogio Lorenzetti had a round panel mounted in the wall with a world map. The map has disappeared, the outline of the circle is still visible. On one side you see the Maestà or Enthroned Madonna with Saints by Simone Martini (1315) and on the other side above the outline of the map Martini’s Guidoriccio da Fogliano (1328), a condottiere or captain of a mercenary army in the service of the republic.

In the Sala dei Nove o della Pace (Hall of the Nine or of Peace) you can admire the Allegories of Good and Evil Reign (1338-1339) by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, already discussed in the History of Siena.

In the Sala dei Priori or della Balia you can see frescoes by Spinello Aretino and his son Parri Spinelli illustrating the life of the first Sienese pope Alexander III.

There are other halls and chapels with interesting frescoes, mostly from the 14th century, and on the top floor the loggia where the Nine could get some fresh air in the evening.

Open : daily from 10am to 7pm (from 16/3 to 31/10, otherwise until 6pm)
Tickets: 10 euros.

Two combined tickets :

• 14 euros for town hall and Santa Maria della Scala
• 20 euros for town hall and Santa Maria della Scala and Torre del Mangia

Torre del Mangia

Next to Piazza del Campo

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DUOMO and Surroundings

The second highlight is the Duomo. One buys a ticket that gives access to the six parts of the complex: Duomo, Libreria Piccolomini, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Panoramic View of the Facciatone, Battistero and Crypt.

Duomo

The Duomo itself, whose interior is sometimes irreverently referred to as the interior of a zebra, was built in several stages between 1220 and 1370.

The most beautiful is probably the pulpit from 1266-1268 by Nicola Pisano, a highlight of Gothic sculpture on an octagonal base with 7 reliefs and resting on 8 columns, four of which are on the backs of lions. If you look closely, you will see that Pisano was often inspired by ancient sarcophagi. The Madonna resembles a Roman matron.

Furthermore, a beautiful bronze John the Baptist (1455) by Donatello, and on a rather surprisingly small size the 4 saints, San Pietro and San Pio on the left and San Paolo and San Gregorio Magno on the right (1501-1504) by Michelangelo. He had a contract to make 12 statues for Francesco Piccolomini Todeschini, the later Pius III who was pope for only 27 days. He delivered only four and, decades later, had to repay part of his fee to the Piccolomini. Nor are they his best works. He must have had his head on grander assignments like the David of Florence.

The Duomo is especially famous for its marble floor with no fewer than 56 large and small representations of fifteenth and early sixteenth century marquetry, which are not always visible, however.

Libreria Piccolomini

From the interior of the cathedral itself, one can enter the Libreria Piccolomini on the left, a room with frescoes by Pinturicchio illustrating the life of Pope Pius II Piccolomini: charming, very decorative but slightly too stiff frescoes (1502-1507). Totally unexpected, because in a church room, there is a Roman statue group of the Three Graces in the room.

The skeleton of the unfinished church and the Facciatone

To the right of the church is the impressive skeleton of the new main nave never completed due to the Black Death of 1348, with the Facciatone or grand façade at the back, which should have been the entrance to the enlarged church.

Battistero

Via the beautiful stairs one goes to the Battistero or baptistery behind and under the choir of the church. The chapel is decorated with frescoes by Il Vecchietta, but its great pride is the baptismal font with 6 panels illustrating the life of John the Baptist. Three reliefs stand out: Donatello’s Banquet of Herod with the Dance of Salome, and Ghiberti’s Capture of the Baptist and The Baptism of Christ by John, absolute highlights of goldsmithing.

Crypt

Close by you will find the entrance to the crypt of the church. In 1999, during renovation works at the Dom, an underground space of 180 m² was accidentally discovered. This was part of the original cathedral that was covered with the new cathedral after 1220. The crypt was filled with rubbish in the 14th century when static problems were identified in the new church. The space gives a good idea of the old church and especially the frescoes by anonymous masters and among the oldest in Tuscany are surprisingly well preserved.

I recommend a low-cost OPASIPASS that gives access to the Duomo, the Libreria Piccolomini, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo and the Facciatone, the Battistero and the cripta.

open : 10.30 to 19.00 (1/3 to 2/11, otherwise until 17.30)

Please note: the Duomo closes at 6 pm and does not open until 1.30 pm on Sundays.

price :

• 01/01 – 26/06; 01/08 – 17/08; 19/10 – 31/12: € 13.00.
• 27/06 – 31/07; 18/08 – 18/10: € 15.00. (if the floor is visible)

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Evening walk on the Costone

From Piazza San Giovanni, the small square in front of the Battistero behind and below the Duomo, turn into Via Franciosa, after 80 meters turn right into small Via Pozzo and immediately left into Via Vallepiatta, the heart of Selva. After about 70 meters the Via del Costone begins on the right along the old city walls to the valley of Fontebranda in Oca and back up to San Domenico in Drago. Especially in the evening it has something fairytale like, and especially during the Palio days.

From the PORTA CAMOLLIA to the PORTA SAN MARCO

There is a long street from the north, the Porta Camollia, to the south, the Porta di San Marco. The street changes its name several times and along the way you pass several highlights of the city. From the long Via Camollia, heart of Istrice, and Via Montanini one enters the elegant main shopping street, Via Banchi di Sopra, which just past the rear of Campo becomes Via di Città, and after the exit to Duomo Via Stalloreggi becomes, the heart of Pantera. Through a smaller medieval inner gate you enter the elongated Pian dei Mantellini and on the left you walk along Via San Marco, heart of Chiocciola, out of the old town.

At the beginning of via Banchi di Sopra there is a small square with 3 palaces, on the left 16th century High Renaissance, central Sienese Gothic, and on the right 15th century Early Renaissance. This is the headquarters of the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest active bank in the world, founded in 1472 as a Monte di Pietà and later developed into a bank.

The bank is open to visitors on the morning of the Palio of July 2 and on the morning of August 15, the day before the Palio of August 16. In addition to the impressive medieval halls and an ultra-modern central staircase, you can also see the large art collection and some beautiful historic Palio paintings. Recommended.

A hundred meters further in the Banchi di Sopa you come to the Piazza Tolomei with the eponymous Gothic Palazzo Tolomei on the right. It is the oldest surviving bank building in the world and still a bank today. Originally built in 1205, but after destruction by the Ghibelline faction in 1266, it was completely rebuilt in its present form in 1267.

Another 100 meters further on the left you will see the Loggia della Mercanzia or the meeting complex of the merchant guild, built between 1417 and 1444 in a style that wavers between late Gothic and early Renaissance. From here you can access the Piazza del Campo through arcades under the houses.

Via San Pietro 29

open : Tuesday to Friday – 8.15 to 19.15 || Sunday and Monday – 9-13
ticket: 8 euros

On the right you go through Via del Capitano to the Duomo and Santa Maria della Scala. On the left of the street is the Palazzo del Magnifico from 1508, ie by Pandolfo Petrucci, the only dictator of Siena. Read The History of Siena. Straight ahead you will enter Via di Stalloregi, the heart of Pantera and Siena becomes a quieter town.

Other walks :

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LITERATURE

Damien Wigny : Sienne et le Sud de la Toscane, new edition 1998
Damien Wigny, ex-director of KB-Lux, living in Gaiole in Chianti, crushes every other guide to Siena and province with this exceptionally voluminous guide.

Useful is the Capitol Guide to Florence and Tuscany.