Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and from the 15th century that of the Archdiocese of Siena. It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino.
The cathedral was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The dome was completed in 1264. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The bell tower has six bells, where the oldest one was cast in 1149. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with the addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius. There are thirty-five statues of prophets and patriarchs grouped around the virgin. The finest Italian artists of that era completed works in the cathedral. These artists were Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Bernini.
The Pinacoteca Nazionale is a national museum in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Inaugurated in 1932, it houses especially late medieval and Renaissance paintings from Italian artists. It is housed in the Brigidi and Buonsignori palaces in the city's center: the former, built in the 14th century, it is traditionally identified as the Pannocchieschi family's residence. The Palazzo Bichi-Buonsignori, although built in the 15th century, has a 19th-century neo-medieval façade based on the city's Palazzo Pubblico.
The gallery has one of the largest collections of Sienese paintings with gold backgrounds from the 14th and 15th centuries.Works in the gallery include:
Duccio di Buoninsegna's Polyptych N. 28 and Madonna of the Franciscans
Guido da Siena's St. Peter Enthroned
Simone Martini's Blessed Agostino Novello and His Miracles
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Annunciation
Bartolo di Fredi's Adoration of the Magi
Michelino da Besozzo's Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine
Il Sodoma's Christ at the Column and Deposition
Domenico Beccafumi's Birth of the Virgin, St. Michael Expelling the Rebel Angels, Coronation of the Virgin, Trinity Triptych, Marriage of St Catherine, Stigmatization of St. Catherine of Siena, St Lucy and Christ in LimboOther artists represented include Ugolino di Nerio, Pietro Lorenzetti, Sassetta, Domenico di Bartolo, Taddeo di Bartolo, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Matteo di Giovanni, Neroccio di Bartolomeo
The Palazzo Pubblico is a palace in Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. Construction began in 1297 to serve as the seat of the Republic of Siena's government, which consisted of the Podestà and Council of Nine, the elected officials who performed executive functions .
Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.
It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and from the 15th century that of the Archdiocese of Siena. It is now the seat of the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino.
The cathedral was designed and completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. It has the form of a Latin cross with a slightly projecting transept, a dome and a bell tower. The dome rises from a hexagonal base with supporting columns. The dome was completed in 1264. The lantern atop the dome was added by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The bell tower has six bells, where the oldest one was cast in 1149. The nave is separated from the two aisles by semicircular arches. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with the addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, etiologically linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius. There are thirty-five statues of prophets and patriarchs grouped around the virgin. The finest Italian artists of that era completed works in the cathedral. These artists were Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Bernini.
The Battistero di San Giovanni is a religious building in Siena, Italy. It is in the square with the same name, near the final spans of the choir of the city's cathedral.
It was built between 1316 and 1325 by Camaino di Crescentino, the father of Tino di Camaino. The façade, in Gothic style, is unfinished in the upper part, such as the apse of the cathedral.
In the interior, the rectangular hall, divided into a nave and two aisles by two columns, contains a hexagonal baptismal font in bronze, marble and vitreous enamel, realized in 1417-1431 by the main sculptors of the time: Donatello , Lorenzo Ghiberti, Giovanni di Turino, Goro di Neroccio and Jacopo della Quercia . The panels represent the Life of John the Baptist, and include:
"Annunciation to Zacharias" by Jacopo della Quercia
"Birth of John the Baptist" by Giovanni di Turino
"Baptist Preaching" by Giovanni di Turino
"Baptism of Christ" by Ghiberti
"Arrest of John the Baptist" by Ghiberti and Giuliano di Ser Andrea
"The Feast of Herod" by Donatello These panels are flanked on the corners by six figures, two by Donatello in 1429; three by Giovanni di Turino ; and the "Fortitude" is by Goro di Ser Neroccio .
The marble shrine on the font was designed by Jacopo della Quercia between 1427 and 1429. The five "Prophets" in the niches and the marble statuette of "John the Baptist" at the top are equally by his hand. Two of the bronze angels are by Donatello, three by Giovanni di Turino .
The frescoes are by Vecchietta and his school , Benvenuto di Giovanni, the school of Jacopo della Quercia e, perhaps, one by Piero Orioli. Vecchietta also painted two scenes on the wall of the apse, representing the Flagellation and the Road to Calvary. Michele di Matteo da Bologna painted in 1477 the frescoes on the vault of the apse.
The Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana, is a basilica church in Siena, Tuscany, Italy, one of the most important in the city.
Santa Maria della Scala is located in Siena, Italy. Now a museum, it was once an important civic hospital dedicated to caring for abandoned children, the poor, the sick, and pilgrims. Revenues were earned partially from bequests and donations from the citizens of Siena, particularly the wealthy. The head of the hospital was the rector who managed the lay brothers responsible for its operation.Santa Maria della Scala was one of Europe's first hospitals and is one of the oldest hospitals still surviving in the world. It played a major cultural role and is considered one of Siena's 3 main artistic hubs.
