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Siena

Siena

Siena is with Florence one of the most attractive destinations in the region. City of the famous palio, an equestrian race, it is a unique medieval town located in the heart of the Tuscan lands, between the hills of Chianti, the Val d’Elsa and the hills of the Crete Senesi, where live nearly 54,000 Sienese. […]

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Things to do and see in Siena

Photo of the courtyard of the Palazzo Chigi-Saracini in Siena

Siena deserves plenty of days to measure its charm. However, it is not a very large city and two days can be enough to bring back beautiful memories. Piazza del Campo is the highlight of the show, an incomparable shell-shaped square surrounded by its medieval palaces, including the Palazzo Pubblico and the tall and beautiful […]

Piazza del Campo in Siena

Piazza del Campo

The Piazza del Campo is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and elegant squares in the world, built between 1293 and 1349. It is the heart of the city of Siena, named after the earlier period when it was a green space for the market. Its beautiful red brick pavement is shaped like a shell […]

Siena Cathedral

Cathedral of Siena

The Siena Cathedral dedicated to Assumption of Mary (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta in Italian) stands out for its white and black stones and marble is certainly one of the most amazing and beautiful churches in Italy.It was built from 1136 to 1382 in the historic center of the city. A large nave remained unfinished […]

Palazzo Pubblico in Siena

Palazzo Pubblico of Siena

The most imposing building in Piazza del Campo is the Palazzo Pubblico with the very large tower next to the Torre della Mangia. Also called Communal Palace, it was built between 1297 and 1310 by the Government of the Nine of the Republic of Siena, as their own seat. Today, the town hall still occupies […]

Civic Museum of Siena

Photo de l'Allégorie et effets du bon et du mauvais gouvernement, Salle des Neuf, Palazzo Pubblico de Sienne

The Siena Civic Museum, the Museo Civico, was built in the 1930s on the first and second floors of the Palazzo Pubblico. Its visit (about an hour) is highly recommended, as the museum to be discovered in Siena. It preserves many masterpieces of Sienese art, with particular attention to two remarkable rooms of the Globe […]

Palio di Siena

The Palio of Siena

The Palio of Siena is a famous equestrian race that pits the different districts of the city (called the contrade), whose origins date back to the medieval games, held on 2 July and 16 August. In the past, many Italian municipalities organized such horse competitions, and some have maintained the tradition until today. Historical overview […]

Fountains and bottini of Siena

Photo of Fontebranda in Siena

In Siena there are some fountains, fed by the bottini, the galleries of a medieval underground aqueduct built from the 12th century. These galleries are 25 km in length, channelling water from seepage from surrounding countryside. The city is built on several hills and is far from the rivers. The galleries of the bottini are […]

Palaces in Siena

Photo of Chigi-Saracini Palace in Siena

The streets of Siena are charming with their splendid palaces, most of them from the Middle Ages, some dating back to the Renaissance. They do not lack elegance with their sobriety, without baroque pomp. The most emblematic of all palaces is located on Palazzo Pubblico, located Piazza del Campo, accompanied by the superb Torre della […]

Pinacoteca Nazionale in Siena

Photo of the Virgin Mary, the Beccafumi

The Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena is an important Italian museum, especially for its collection of ” paintings on gold background ” from the 14th and 15th centuries in Siena. It is housed in the Palazzo Buonsignori and Brigidi, inaugurated in 1932. The works bear witness to pictorial art in Siena from the 12th to the […]

Basilica of San Dominico in Siena

View of the facade of Saint-Domenico in Siena

The Basilica di San Domenico in Siena, also known as Basilica Cateriniana, is one of the most important churches in the city, with its imposing Gothic architecture and Renaissance works. It is dedicated to Dominique de Guzman, founder of the Dominican order, also very close to Saint Catherine of Siena.It has vast dimensions, 77 meters […]

Saint Catherine Sanctuary in Siena

Photo of the loggia of the Saint Catherine sanctuary in Siena

The Sanctuary of Saint Catherine of Siena (Santuario-Casa di Santa Caterina) is located on Hill San Antonio in Siena, consisting of the old house of the Benincasa, the family of Catherine and her birthplace, with various arcades, churches and chapels. Gantry and galleries The sanctuary is entered by the neoclassical Portico dei Comuni d’Italia (Portico […]

Other churches in Siena

Photo of the Basilica of Saint Francis in Siena

Basilica of Saint Francis in Siena The Basilica of San Francesco di Siena is one of the most important churches in Siena, located on the homonymous square. Between 1228 and 1255, at the request of the Franciscans, a first church in the Romanesque style was built. It was enlarged between 1326 and 1475, giving it […]

Gates and other sights of Siena

View of the Porta Tufi in Siena

This page is dedicated to other interesting places in Siena, including its walls and gates, loggias, the Medici Fortress, some squares and streets of the center. Walls and gates of Siena Siena retains a large part of its medieval walls, with ancient gates, which are often ignored by tourists despite their interest. The perimeter of […]

Short history of Siena

history of Siena

Although it seems that the Etruscans had occupied the territory of Siena, its foundation dates from the time of the emperor Augustus where a Roman colony was established under the name of Siena Julia. The earliest document mentioning the city dates back to 70 AD in the Book IV of the Historiae of Tacitus. He […]