Itinerary for discovering Siena

Nestled in the Tuscan hills, Siena is a magnificent city of art, rich in unique jewels and enchanting landscapes, but also with strong traditions that have been alive for centuries. It is most famous for the large Piazza del Campo, where the Palio, the historic horse race around which the entire life of the Sienese people revolves, is run twice a year. But there is definitely much more to see!

Follow us on this exciting itinerary to discover Siena and its main attractions.

The tour begins in its main square, Piazza del Campo, or as the Sienese call it ‘Il Campo’. Unique for its particular shell shape, it is divided into nine segments in memory of the Nine Lords who governed the city between the end of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century. Overlooking the square is the Palazzo Pubblico, also known as the Palazzo Comunale, one of the most extraordinary examples of civil Gothic architecture. On one side stands the fascinating Torre del Mangia, one of the tallest towers in Italy. Built between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, the palace currently houses the Museo Civico, where a large number of masterpieces of Sienese art can be admired. The most important rooms are: the Sala del Mappamondo, which houses the grandiose fresco of the ‘Maestà’ by Simone Martini; and the Sala dei Nove, with the famous frescoes by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. In the centre of the square is a copy of the Fonte Gaia, while the original, painted by Jacopo della Quercia, is kept in the Museum Complex of Santa Maria della Scala.

Behind Piazza del Campo, in the so-called Croce del Travaglio, is the splendid Loggia della Mercanzia, also known as the Loggia dei Mercanti or di San Paolo, elegant Renaissance architecture built in the first half of the 15th century. Continuing along Via Banchi di Sopra we reach the 13th-century Palazzo Tolomei, located in the square of the same name. It is a refined Gothic building built entirely of stone, one of the most prestigious in the city. Opposite the palace stands the Church of San Cristoforo, one of the oldest in Siena, built in the Romanesque style between the 11th and 12th centuries, although its current appearance is due to renovations carried out in the 19th century. If you take Via del Moro to the left of the church, you will reach Piazza Provenzano, where you can admire the beautiful Collegiate Church of Santa Maria in Provenzano. Built between the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, the church has a single-nave Baroque interior and preserves many notable works of the Sienese school.

The itinerary then continues to Piazza San Francesco, overlooked by several noteworthy buildings, such as: the great Basilica of San Francesco, embellished by the marvellous detached frescoes by Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, with the adjoining former convent, which houses a vast Renaissance cloister; and the Oratory of San Bernardino, a place with a magical and evocative atmosphere consisting of two rooms, an upper one frescoed by Sodoma and Beccafumi, and the other lower. At this point, we return to Via Banchi di Sopra and reach the scenic Piazza Salimbeni, renowned above all for the presence of the Gothic and majestic Palazzo Salimbeni, the historic headquarters of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank. The Renaissance Palazzo Spannocchi and the 17th-century Palazzo Tantucci also overlook the square. Via della Sapienza leads to the imposing bulk of the Basilica of San Domenico, one of the city’s most important and oldest churches. Completely brick-built in Cistercian-Gothic style, it was built between 1225 and 1265. Inside you can admire wonderful frescoes by Sodoma.

Not far away is the Baptistery of San Giovanni, built between 1316 and 1325 but with an unfinished façade. The interior, entirely frescoed, is one of the most representative examples of 15th-century Sienese painting. But the Baptistery is remembered above all for the Baptismal Font, a work of great value to whose realisation the greatest sculptors of the time, such as Giovanni di Turino, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia, contributed. The next stop is the nearby Duomo, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta. Begun in the middle of the 12th century and completed in its present form towards the end of the 14th century, it is one of the most significant examples of an Italian Romanesque-Gothic cathedral. Inside, it houses a large number of works of art, among which is the marvellous marble floor with inlaid panels, on which more than forty artists worked from the 15th to the 19th century. In the left aisle is the entrance to the Piccolomini Library, frescoed by Pinturicchio with scenes from the life of Pius II.

Piazza del Duomo is also overlooked by: the Museum Complex of Santa Maria della Scala, one of the oldest hospitals in Europe, which houses a series of collections ranging from antiquity to modern times; and the Museo dell’Opera, where one can admire masterpieces by masters such as Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Duccio di Buoninsegna and Jacopo della Quercia. The itinerary continues on Via di Città, along which face the historic Palazzo Patrizi and the prestigious Palazzo Chigi-Saracini, home to the famous Accademia Musicale Chigiana. A few steps from Via di Città is the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena, one of the most important in Italy for the richness and value of its works. Housed in Palazzo Buonsignori and the adjacent Palazzo Brigidi, it contains the most important collection of 14th- and 15th-century Sienese paintings. Finally, the itinerary ends with a visit to the Church of Sant’Agostino, of 13th-century origin, inside which numerous masterpieces of Sienese and non-Senese art are preserved.