The amphitheatrically shaped Campo seems to be an almost organic element of the city's urban planning.. And indeed, when the Council of Nine began its construction in 1347 r., was created on the only possible place – on the old market square, located at the confluence of the city quarters, but not belonging to anyone.
It was necessary to support the lower part of the square with a huge escarpment, where Palazzo Pubblico was to stand, or town hall. The square itself was divided into nine parts to honor its highly civil rule., which increased the impression of amphitheatre. From the very beginning, it was a focus of urban life, place of execution, bullfighting, boxing matches, and, Of course, palio. He also preached here. Bernard, holding in front of him a monogram with the name of Christ in Greek — IHS — calling on the nobility to replace their flattering vanity family coats of arms with it.. A few have done so. (the monogram appears on several palazzi), was also adopted by the council for the façade of Palazzo Pubblico, next to the former emblem of the city, she-wolves, which symbolized the legendary founding of the city by the sons of Remus.
Palazzo Pubblico, with high on the law 100 meters from the bell tower Torre del Mangia, is in every way the most important point of Campo, occupying almost the entire south side of the square. The lower level of the arcades of the palace is characteristic of the Sienese Gothic, as well as the columns separating the windows. The Council was so delighted with this decorative motif, that she ordered it to be repeated on all the other buildings of the square — and indeed it adds grace
Twelfth-century Palazzo Sansedoni from the north. The second basic exterior feature of Palazzo Pubblico is Cappella di Piazza, stone loggia at the foot of the tower, built to commemorate the cessation of the plague in 1348 r.
At the highest point of Campo, a renaissance briefly appears, in the form of Fonte Gaia (Fountain of joy), which was designed and made by Jacopo della Quercia at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Her quarters are reproductions, and heavily weathered originals can be seen on the rear loggia of Palazzo Pubblico.
Palazzo Pubblico
Palazzo Pubblico still serves as the Sienese Town Hall, but its main halls were transformed into the Museo Civico (codz. 9.30-19.30, winter 9.30-17.30; 5000 L), entrance through the courtyard to the right of Cappella di Piazza. To the left of the courtyard is a separate entrance to Torre del Mangia (codz. 10.00-19.00; 3000 L), with fabulous views of the city and the surrounding area. The tower owes its name to its first glutton guard (mangia), commemorated by a statue in the courtyard.
Having the time and desire to visit only one museum in Siena, it's best to opt for the Museo Civico — a number of former public halls, covered with frescoes dedicated to secular life in a medieval city. The tour begins on the first floor with a fairly diverse collection of paintings and from the Sala del Risorgimento, decorated with nineteenth-century scenes, associated with Vittorio Emanuele. You will move to medieval times after reaching the Sala dei Priori, w 1407 r. covered by Spinello Aretina with frescoes depicting episodes of the life of Pope Alexander III and his conflict with Frederick Barbarossa, and to the adjacent Cappella del Consiglio, painted a year later by Taddeo di Bartola, with a majestic wrought-iron rainbow made by Jacopo della Quercia.
However, this is only a warm-up in front of the hall 10., Sala del Mappamondo, named after (Partial) cosmology on frescoes. On one wall of this hall is the fabulous Maesta (The Virgin Mary in Majesty) Martini Simone, extraordinary laser work, painted in 1315 and retouched by Martini (the palace was damp) six years later. The style is definitely Sienese, clearly influenced by Byzantine paintings, which reached Italy via Pisa, then in covenant with Siena. It was a symbolic art, placing great emphasis on spirituality, and almost no Renaissance attention to perspective or naturalistic illusion. This image, with its warmth and capture of space, is a widely recognized masterpiece.
Painting on the opposite wall, Equestrian statue of Guidoriccio da Fogliano, for a long time it was also attributed to Martini – and is almost a symbol of the city – being considered one of the first Italian portraits and landscapes. It is undoubtedly a wonderful painting with a knight setting off from a battle camp to the siege of a walled city on a hill, but in spite of this, what still persists in guidebooks and postcards, the author was not Martini. Art historians have long been breaking their heads over the anachronistic castles in the painting—much later in style than a year. 1328, to which the painting is dated — and during conservation in the 80s, definitive evidence was found: namely discovered, that underneath is a Renaissance fresco by Sodom. Fragment of two figures near the castle, most likely an authentic work of Martini, can be viewed under the main image. Perhaps this was the inspiration for this forgery..
The most important frescoes in Palazzo Pubblico are located in the hall 11., former Sala dei Nove, "Hall of Nine". These are allegories of good and bad rule by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, ordered in 1377., to remind the councillors of the consequences of their actions. Next to the main theme here is a complex iconography of allegorical virtues and characters; it is worth listening to the lecture of one of the guides.
Some of the finest panel paintings—works by Lorenzetti's contemporaries Guida da Siena and Mattea di Giovanni—are exhibited at the Sala della Pace, next to Sala dei Nove. It is also worth spending some time visiting the rear loggia, where are the original accommodation of Fonte Gaia; properly stretching out the neck, you can also see the current meeting rooms from here, covered with frescoes.