{"id":11678,"date":"2023-11-10T11:02:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T10:02:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.latoscane.net\/things-to-do-and-see-in-siena\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T22:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T20:11:19","slug":"things-to-do-and-see-in-siena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.latoscane.net\/en\/things-to-do-and-see-in-siena\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to do and see in Siena"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Siena<\/strong><\/a> 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.
\nPiazza del Campo is the highlight of the show<\/em>, an incomparable shell-shaped square surrounded by its medieval palaces, including the Palazzo Pubblico and the tall and beautiful Torre del Mangia. The other major site of the city is around the cathedral and Piazza del Duomo. Beyond, the streets of the historic center are impressive, seemingly transported directly from the Middle Ages. It is a huge medieval centre, with its churches, palaces, fountains, squares and several museums.<\/p>\n

See also at the end of page <\/i> Tourist map of Siena<\/span><\/a>\n

Piazza del Campo in Siena<\/h2>\n
\"Siena\"<\/a>

Piazza del Campo view from the tour of the Mangia<\/p><\/div>\n

The most beautiful place in Siena! Considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world, the Piazza del Campo<\/strong> is shaped like a shell with 9 sectors symbolizing the members of the government in the fourteenth century when it was built.<\/p>\n

It is surrounded by medieval palaces, with the Palazzo Pubblico in majesty, dominated by the Torre del Mangia which can be climbed to enjoy a unique view of the square and the city, the most beautiful fountain of Siena the Fonte Gaia of the fifteenth century, the Piazza Chapel or the Sansedoni Palace.
\nYou can have a drink or dinner on one of the terraces around, or just sit on the large pavement, quite comfortable with its slight slope, and enjoy the place.
\nThis is where the Palio of Siena<\/a> takes place, twice a year, horse races that see the neighborhoods of Siena face off.
\n\u2192 See also the page on Piazza del Campo<\/a><\/p>\n

Palazzo Pubblico and Civic Museum<\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia<\/p><\/div>\n

The superb medieval palace of the Palazzo Pubblico<\/strong>, built in the 13th-14th centuries on Piazza del Campo was the heart of political power in Siena with its nine rulers from the 14th century.
\nIt houses in its historic rooms the Civic Museum of Siena<\/strong>, whose walls bear impressive frescoes, especially the unique work by d’Ambrogio Lorenzetti with the Allegory of good and bad government<\/em> made in 1337.
\n\u2192 See also the page on the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena<\/a> and the Museo Civico of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Torre del Mangia tower in Siena<\/h2>\n

Unless you suffer from vertigo, do not hesitate to climb the 88 meters of the Torre del Mangia<\/strong>, a tower whose origin dates back to the fourteenth century (enlarged and partly rebuilt later), by its 400 steps, to enjoy a unique view of Siena and the Piazza del Campo that reveals its shell shape.
\n\u2192 See also the page about Torre del Mangia tower<\/a><\/p>\n

Piazza del Duomo and Cathedral<\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Cathedral Facade<\/p><\/div>\n

The Piazza Duomo<\/strong> is the second most beautiful square in Siena, thanks to the most important religious building of Siena: the Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta<\/strong>, also called Duomo di Siena<\/strong>. It is certainly one of the greatest examples of Romanesque-Gothic architecture in Italy. Its exterior is characterized by its black and white bichromy and many rich carved ornaments, motifs, figures of saints, arrows, etc.
\nThe interior is no less impressive with its three high naves, the Piccolomini Library painted by Pinturicchio, statues of Michelangelo, the pulpit of Pisano, the superb pavement with its religious and other stories.
\nThe bell tower of the Duomo reaches 77 meters. Outside a large unfinished nave reveals that the initial project was to make the church the largest in the Christian world!<\/p>\n

The visit of the cathedral is associated with that of the Museum Opera del Duomo<\/a> and the Siena Baptistery.
\n\u2192 See also the page about Siena Cathedral<\/a><\/p>\n

Santa Maria della Scala Hospital-Museum<\/h2>\n
\"View<\/a>

The Pellegrinaio<\/p><\/div>\n

Located also in Piazza del Duomo, Santa Maria della Scala<\/strong> was the pilgrim hospital founded in the 9th century, an important institution in the Middle Ages, converted into a museum of great interest.
\nIts richness are as much at the architectural level with the rooms of the hospital such as the fabulous Room of the Pilgrims adorned with superb frescoes; the chapels; that for its numerous and varied artistic collections, including the Archaeological Museum.
\n\u2192 See also the page on Santa Maria della Scala in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Opera del Duomo Museum of Siena<\/h2>\n

The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo<\/strong>, located in the large unfinished nave, gathers works from the cathedral and the diocese of Siena. There are many masterpieces, such as a Madonna and Child<\/em> by Donatello, statues of saints or prophets for the fa\u00e7ade by Giovanni Pisano, works by Lorenzetti, Sodom and above all two masterpieces by Duccio di Boninsegna.<\/p>\n

\u2192 See also the section on Opera del Duomo Museum in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Baptistery<\/h2>\n
\"Picture<\/a>

Baptistery Facade<\/p><\/div>\n

Behind the Siena Cathedral, the important baptistery<\/strong> dates from 1325.
\nThe superb interior, created in the 15th century, is decorated with frescoes by Benvenuto di Giovanni and The Miracles of Saint Anthony of Padua<\/em> (15th century).
\nIn the centre is the bronze and marble baptismal fountain, a fine example of the early Tuscan Renaissance, which was the work of several artists such as Jacopo della Quercia, Ghiberti, Donatello and di Turino.
\n\u2192 See also the page on Baptistery of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

National Art Gallery<\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Virgin and Child, Beccafumi<\/p><\/div>\n

The important Siena Art Gallery has a unique collection of paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries, especially those from Siena. Among the masterpieces are paintings by Simone Martini, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Giovanni di Paolo, Sassetta, di Buoninsegna, Domenico Beccafumi, Le Sodoma or Vanni.<\/p>\n

On the upper floor is the Spannocchi-Piccolomini collection with Italian, Flemish and German works, including a Nativity<\/em> by Lorenzo Lotto.
\n\u2192 See also the page on National Art Gallery of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Basilica of Saint Dominic<\/h2>\n
\"View<\/a>

Basilica di San Domenico<\/p><\/div>\n

Near the walls of Siena, this large Dominican Basilica<\/strong> is one of the most important buildings in the city, built in the 13th-14th centuries. It is tall and vast with a single-nave interior immense but very bare, apart from the important Chapel of Saint Catherine<\/strong> with its relics, the two masterpieces of Sodoma<\/em> (the mystical evanescence and ecstasy of the saint<\/em>), and the Chapel of Volte<\/strong> where Sainte-Catherine came to pray.
\n\u2192 See also the page on Basilica di San Domenico in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

St. Catherine\u2019s Shrine<\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Loggia<\/p><\/div>\n

Near San Domenico, this house-sanctuary includes the 15th century family home where Sainte Catherine<\/strong> lived, her father working here as a dyer.
\nThe complex has a nice Portico of the Communes, with the well of the fifteenth century, a loggia of the sixteenth, the church of the Crucifix with frescoes on the life of the saint, the Oratory of the Kitchen, etc
\n\u2192 See also the page on House-sanctuary of Sainte Catherine of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Fontebranda, fountains and Water Museum<\/h2>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Fontebranda<\/p><\/div>\n

The 13th-century Fontebranda<\/strong> is the oldest and most charming fountain in Siena with its medieval vaults, while the 15th-century Fonte Gaia<\/strong> on Piazza del Campo is the most artistic.
\nThey are fed by ancient underground aqueducts (called bottini<\/em>) dug by the Sienese over tens of kilometers to water the city. Parts of the latter can be visited. The fountain of Fontebranda was used for drinking water, watering and washing with separate basins.
\n\u2192 See also the page on Fountains of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Biccherne Museum in Siena<\/h2>\n

The State Archives of Siena are housed in the exemplary Renaissance building of the Piccolomini Palace<\/strong>, which houses the Biccherne Museum in Siena<\/strong> (Museums of the tablets of the Biccherna), with a permanent exhibition of 105 tablets of the Biccherna, covers of wooden registries made between the middle of the thirteenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the Middle Ages, the Biccherna was the city\u2019s most important financial court. These tablets are true works of art, with various representations of the public and religious life of Siena.
\n\u2192 Read also the paragraph on the Museo delle Biccherne in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Palaces in Siena<\/h2>\n

\u2192 See also the page dedicated to Palaces in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Chigi-Saracini Palace<\/h3>\n
\"Photo<\/a>

Chigi-Saracini Palace<\/p><\/div>\n

The Chigi-Saracini Palace<\/strong> dates back to the 13th century, and was later enlarged.
\nIt houses important works of art and is the seat of the prestigious Chigiana Music Academy.
\nOpen to the public for events and guided tours. Alternatively, you can discover the beautiful courtyard.
\n\u2192 See also the paragraph dedicated to Chigi-Saracini palace<\/a><\/p>\n

Sansedoni Palace<\/h3>\n

It is one of the most beautiful palaces in Siena, dating from the fourteenth century, along a curve of Piazza del Campo.
\nThe interior is rich in frescoes and elegant decorations, with a private chapel. Guided tours are available, by reservation and for groups of at least 15 people.
\n\u2192 See also the paragraph dedicated to Palazzo Sansedoni in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Salimbeni Palace<\/h3>\n

The Salimbeni Palace<\/strong> is the historic seat of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the oldest bank in the world. It can only be visited on the days of the two palios, the rest of the time an inner courtyard and some rooms.
\n\u2192 See also the paragraph dedicated to Palazzo Salimberi of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Palazzo delle Papesse<\/h3>\n

The Palazzo delle Papesse<\/strong> is located in via di Citt\u00e0, of papal origin, and today houses the Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea Senese<\/strong>. Built between 1460 and 1495, it is another “Piccolomini Palace”. It displays Renaissance architecture in the Florentine style.
\n\u2192 See also Read the paragraph dedicated to Palazzo delle Papesse of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Chigi Zondadari Palace<\/h3>\n

The beautiful 18th-century Chigi Zondadari Palace, typical of Roman architecture at that time, has large halls frescoed by renowned painters.
\nIn 2022, the Casa Museo Palazzo Chigi Zondadari<\/strong> was opened to the public to discover the palace.
\n\u2192 See also the paragraph dedicated to Palazzo Chigi Zondadari in Siena<\/a><\/p>\n

Other churches in Siena<\/h2>\n