Siena
The view over Siena in Tuscany, Italy. One of the country's most beautiful cities – with ancient buildings and medieval walls – bustling Siena is steeped in history and culture. It is particularly famous for the annual Palio, a horse race held in the main square, the Piazza del Campo.
Town in Tuscany, Italy, about 50 km/31 mi south of Florence; population (2001) 52,600. Founded by the Etruscans, it has medieval sculpture including works in the 13th-century unfinished Gothic cathedral by Niccolo Pisano and Donatello, and many examples of the Sienese school of painting that flourished from the 13th to the 16th centuries. The Palio (‘banner’, in reference to the prize) is a dramatic and dangerous horse race in the main square, held annually (2 July and 16 August) since the Middle Ages.
History
The town was a Roman colony in the time of Augustus. In the 12th century it became a free city adhering to the pro-imperial Ghibelline faction. Siena was politically unstable internally as well as being involved in external warfare for most of the period 1355–1559. It was governed by the Visconti of Milan 1399–1404; by the pope 1458–63; and by the despot Pandolfo Petrucci in 1487. It came under heavy Spanish influence from the 1520s to 1552, and was ruled directly by Spain 1555–57; it was then sold to Cosimo de' Medici, duke of Florence.
Features Work on the huge unfinished ‘new cathedral’ was halted by the arrival of the Black Death (plague) in 1348; it contains a pulpit by Nicola Pisano and a statue of St John the Baptist by Donatello. The Gothic brick Palazzo Publico has a tower 100 m/328 ft high, and contains important paintings. There are many palaces and mansions, fountains, and a university founded in 1247. The Pinacoteca gallery contains a collection of paintings of the Sienese school, including works by Duccio di Buoninsegna, its first major figure. The medieval banking traditions of Siena survive in the Monte dei Paschi, founded in 1625. |
Siena
| Province of north central Italy in southern Tuscany region; capital Siena; area 3,821 sq km/1,475 sq mi; population (2000 est) 252,800. |
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