DATE
01 JAN - 31 DEC
TIME
Full Day
PRICE - € 290
SIENA CLASSICA + MUSEI
In the morning we will have a pleasant walk to discover the historic center and its main attractions, ending in Piazza del Campo with a visit to the Civic Museum. Free time for lunch. The tour continues in the afternoon with a visit to the Cathedral complex that includes the Church, the Baptistery, the Crypt and the OPA Museum.
We will end with the Santa Maria della Scala Museum, the former city hospital built for housing pilgrims back in the Middle Ages.
In the presence people with ambulation difficulties, the sections of the route having the biggest difference in level, will be avoided.
PROGRAM
SIENA CLASSIC + MUSEUM
SAN DOMENICO (SIENA CLASSIC)
It was built in the early 13th century but it has undergone many changes over the centuries, following numerous fires and the earthquake of 1798, which led to the bell tower to be shortened. It’s a single nave Church because the Dominican order preferred large open spaces for preaching their flock. This church is not only important from an artistic point of view but also from a religious one, because it has been home to one of the Siena’s most venerated relics: the head of Saint Catherine, kept inside a chapel decorated by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, known as Sodoma, in the early 15th century. Inside the Church is also possible to see the only portrait of Saint Catherine, as it was painted while she was still alive.
PIAZZA SALIMBENI (SIENA CLASSIC)
This square is named after the Salimbeni family, very rich and powerful in Siena back in the Middle Ages, and the big stone building at the center was originally their residence. Today this is the headquarter of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Bank, founded in 1472. It’s the oldest active bank in the world.
PIAZZA DEL CAMPO (SIENA CLASSIC)
It is the Siena’s main square; it is characterized by a very unusual shell form, the paving is made of bricks and divided into 9 sections in order to represent the government of the Nine Lords which ruled Siena between the end of the 13th century and the mid 14th century, Siena’s most illustrious years. The most important building is the City Hall, built in the Middle Ages to house the city government, this is still its function today. The tower is one of the highest in Italy and is called Torre del Mangia.
Piazza del Campo is also the square in which the famous Palio horse race takes place twice a year, every July 2nd and August 16th .
DUOMO (SIENA CLASSIC)
The Duomo is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was built at top of the highest hill back in the Middle Ages. It wasn’t all built at the same time as it’s the result of centuries of works. The church is entirely covered with colored marble and the façade is decorated with statues depicting sibyls, prophets and evangelists. The interior contains works of art made by some of the most important masters in the history of European art, such as Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Michelangelo, Bernini and Pinturicchio. An absolute masterpiece is the Cathedral's grandiose marble inlay floor, which is unique both in terms of the technique used to make it and in terms of the message enshrined in its figured panel.
THE CATHEDRAL COMPLEX
This tour allows you to explore the majesty of Siena Cathedral with its mosaic floor, the Piccolomini Library and includes the OPA Museum and the "New Cathedral" with its unfinished facade, and continues on into the Crypt and the Baptistry. A single monumental complex that contains works of art made by some of the most important masters in the history of European art, such as Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Michelangelo, Bernini and Duccio di Buoninsegna. An absolute masterpiece is the Cathedral's grandiose marble inlay floor, which is unique both in terms of the technique used to make it and in terms of the message expressed in its figured panel. It is the result of centuries of works and it depicts scenes from Bible and classical antiquity.
SANTA MARIA DELLA SCALA MUSEUM
This is the former city hospital, built at the end of the year 1000 to accommodate the pilgrims who arrived in Siena and during the 14th century also became a place for treating the sick. It is one of the oldest hospitals in Europe and it was used as such for almost a thousand years. Part of the complex was dedicated to housing abandoned children who were educated and then sent off to work. The complex is enormous and today is a museum: in addition to the permanent and special exhibitions, you can also enjoy the 15 hundreds frescoes that decorate the rooms
CIVIC MUSEUM
The first floor of the City Hall is open to visitors as the Civic Museum. The building was built in the early 13 hundreds to house the city’s government and this is still its function today. The walls of the Museum show some of the most important medieval frescos in Europe: the Majesty, made by Simone Martini and the Allegory of the Good and the Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. They are considered to be milestones of western art of all ages.
INFO / BOOK
€ 290