The Story of Siena and San Gimignano

e City of

zi routed the hireling soldiery of the last of the Petrucci, the three chief streets of Siena lead off into the three Terzi: the

more beautiful street. Now it is spoilt; for shoemakers and tailors have returned to it, and it is spoilt. Let therefore our Signori choose four citizens, who shall have to embellish it, so that the bankers shall be together in one part of it, the drapers and goldsmiths in another, the furriers and armourers in another, and that within these limits no other trades can be exercised save those that shall be ordained by these four."[131] During the fifteenth century,

at Florence) intermediate between Gothic and Renaissance. Of the saints on the fa?ade, St Peter and St Paul are by Vecchietta, Victor, Ansanus and Savinus by Antonio Federighi; the two marble seats, to right and left, are by Federighi and Il Marrina respectively. On the right, past the meeting-place of the Accademia de' Rozzi (an institution dating from the early part of the Cinquecento), under a kind of colonnade begin the curious Via dei Beccari, the street of the butchers, with the oxhead of their guild prominently displayed (beco

inquecento from the design of Giacomo Cozzarelli, who also cast the splendid metal work on the exterior. The arms of the Petrucci are still to be seen under what was the chief entrance, but the lower part of the palace is very squalid now. Of the frescoes that Luca Signorelli, Girolamo Genga and Bernardino Pinturicchio painted for the Magnifico, there now remains nothing but a few fragments in one room, doub

, a Gothic palace of the thirteenth century completely restored, which came into the possession of the Saracini-whose Saracen's head and eagle ad

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n this kind and representing the Sposalizio of St Catherine of Siena, in the presence of St Peter and St Paul and other Saints. It was originally in Santo Spirito. "This work," says Vasari, "which was executed with much judgment and design, gained for him great honour." Here is also what is said to be the first sketch of Beccafumi's Nativity in San Martino. There are two characteristic Madonnas by Neroccio di Bartolommeo Landi. Andrea del Brescianino is represented by a Holy Family, two exceedingly beautiful tondi very much above his usual level, and a sm

t noble fashion and with great cost, to the honour of this magnificent city and of your Magnificences and lofty Lordships."[133] In style it shows a peculiar harmonising of the Sienese Gothic with the domestic architecture of the Florentine Quattrocento. The fa?ade is an effective combination of a rusticated basement with smooth grey stone above. The original designer was probably Bernardino Rossellino, the Florentine master whom Piu

piazza with the chief approach to the Duomo. At the end of the Via di Città is the grey tower, half stone and half brick, of the Forteguerri de' Grandi, one of the oldest noble families of Siena, which was originally connected by a bridge with the palace opposite, which was also of the Forteguerri (later one of the numerous palaces of the Piccolomini). It was here that Niccolò Borghesi was murdered in June, 1500. He was returning from Mass at the Duom

t looked out upon the Postierla. They were "all certainly as young and pleasing, as they were clever and honest"; and, it being the Sunday of the Carnival, they resolved, in spite of the cruel enemies of the Republic, to keep the three days of the Carnival, as Clarice suggested, "with some form of pleasant and gentle conversation, according to what will be most agreeable to us all." But men were needed to make the plan a success. "Indeed," said Celia, "our delight, however great, would not have its savour unless the presence, at once grave and sweet, of a

ion of the Ordelaffi and the Column of the Colonna. The palace has been completely restored. The cortile, with a staircase guarded by the Lion of the People, somewhat resembles-on a smaller scale-the Palazzo del Podestà at Florence. The palace (which now belongs to the Count Piccolomini della Triana, as the arms on the shield which the Lion holds indicate) was sold by the Republic in the fifteenth centu

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hich cost me eighteen lire the pair. And in the street there was arranged a great vat of forty measures, divided in half, and a column in the middle upon which were a lion and a wolf, so that the lion threw white wine on one side of the vat and the wolf threw red wine on the other side, and a fountain in the midst between the lion and the wolf threw water. And

ukes of Tuscany. In part, it occupies the site of the palace of Giacoppo Petrucci in which his cruel and tyrannical son, the Cardinal Raffaello, resided. Raffaello left it to his nephew, Anton Maria Petru

fame (in spite of painters and novelists) recent research has cleared from the imputation of his having been the husband-and therefore the murderer-of La Pia, that hapless lady whom Siena made and Maremma unmade, whom the divine poet met among the dim shades of those who died a violent death.[137] San Pietro alle Scale, the parish church of San Pietro in Castelvecchio, is a structure of the thirteenth century, with a modernised fa?ade and interior. There are two small tondi

i, is the oldest part of the city. At the corner of the Via di Castelvecchio in the Via Stalloreggi, at a house once belonging to one of the Marescotti, is a fresco by Bazzi, "where a dead Christ, who is

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ly the only remnant of the first castle and certainly the most venerable piece of masonry left in Siena; according to the legend, it was here that St Ansanus himself was imprisoned by the Roman governor before his martyrdom. In the Via delle Murelle (now Via Tommaso Pendola) is the chapel of the Contrada della Tartuca. This part of Siena is rich in charitable institutions. On either side of the street is a great institute for the Deaf and Dumb, and in the refectory of an old convent of the Poor Clares (now the female side of the Institute) the Sisters of Charity show you a beautiful fresco of the

h contains some good pictures: the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin by Bazzi; the Ascension of Christ by Pacchiarotti; the Adoration of the Shepherds, begun by Il Riccio and finished by Arcangiolo Salimbeni. But finer than any of these is Beccafumi's St Michael casting down the rebellious Angels, over the altar opposite the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, a work of much beauty and great imaginative power, enthusiastically-but hard

h is a pleasant and shady piazzale with a view over the sweeping country to the distant hills, the Monastery of Sant' Eugenio standing out conspicuously on its eminen

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on alone remaining to show tha

work, thoroughly Lombard in composition and feeling, the beautiful young King on the right curiously recalling Luini's types; "there is," says Vasari, "a head of a shepherd between two trees, which seems verily alive," and which is said to be the painter's own portrait. The picture was painted for two of the Arduini family, and the name and arms of the Archbishop Ascanio are obviously a later addition. On the left is a marble statue of Pius II. by Duprè, and on the right the Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni. This latter picture shows sufficient dramatic energy and sense of beauty to make us wish that these were displayed upon a less horrible subject. The groups of unconcerned children and the classical bas-reliefs remind us of Matteo's admirable work upon the pavement of the

e, under a picturesque arch, we re-enter the older circle of walls by the Via Giova

surrounded themselves with armed retainers and gave those sumptuous entertainments that were a feature in the social life of the "soft" city. There are still old palaces on either side; steep vicoli wind and radiate off from it, with sudden glimpses beyond of distant hills and t

o at the Porrione, as the opening of the Via San Mar

ella

st part carved by Lorenzo di Mariano. This palace now contains the Archivio di Stato of Siena; to do justice to its multifold interest, a book would be required larger than the present volume. In the Sala della Mostra a number of documents of all kinds are exhibited, illustrating Sienese life and politics from the year 736 downwards, including a whole series of Imperial diplomas from Louis the Pius in 813 to Charles V. in 1536. Here we may read, on the very parchment on which they were written, the letter from the Commune of Florence to that of Siena concerning the massacre of Cesena; the bull of Pius II., with a postscript in his own hand, exhorting the Sienese to admit the nobles to the government; Giovanni Torriani, general of the Dominicans, announcing his intention of sending Frate Girolamo Savonarola to Siena to reform the convent

he Lupa, painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti; for the Biccherna of 1385, after the fall of the Riformatori and the establishment of the new Monte del Popolo, there is a similar allegory by some later follower of the Lorenzetti, in which the citizens, bound together in the white bonds of pure concord, assemble before the Genius of the Commune. Apart from their great historical interest, many of the tavolette of the Quattrocento are little gems of Sienese painting. That of the Biccherna of 1433 represents the Coronation of the Emperor Sigismund; the Biccherna of 1436 gives us a striking St Jerome by an unknown painter; the Gabella of 1440 and 1444, St Peter of Alexandria and St Michael, both ascribed to Giovanni di Paolo. The Tavoletta di Biccherna of 1449 shows the Coronation of Pope Nicholas V.; that of 1451 represents Ghino di Pietro Bellanti washing his hands in the presence of the Blessed Virgin, to manifest his loyalty and the purity of his administration-whereas he was a traitor of the deepest dye who, five years later, was implicated in the plots to betray Siena to Piccinino and the King of Naples, and forced to fly for his life. The Tavoletta di Gabella of 1455, by an unknown artist, refers to the crusading zeal of Pope Calixtus III.; it represents the Annunciation, between St Bernard, as the preacher of the second Crusade, and the Pope himself blessing the youths and maidens of Siena who took part in the processions that he ordered, to pray Heaven for the downfall of the Turk.[144] The curious design of the Biccherna of 1457, of the school of Sano di Pietro, is, according to Mr Heywood, "symbolical of the peace made between the Sienese Republic and the Count Jacopo Piccinino." Both tavolette, of the Biccherna and of the Gabella, of 1460, are concerned with Pius II.; in the one he is crowned by two Cardinals, under the special patronage of the Madonna, while Siena is seen below guarded by her lions of the People (probably a reference to the papal attempt to restore the nobles to the government); in the other, he confers the cardinal's hat upon his nephew, Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini; Mr Berenson ascribes the on

245 white beans to 11 black. Afterwards a resolution was carried to give a hundred lire in alms to churches, for prayers to God. And Messer Andrea Piccolomini moved that every year for Holy Mary of March a palio should be run of the value of 50 florins. The beans were all white. He further moved that all the Council should accompany the Signori to the Duomo. And at th

ent, but before their expulsion from the city-after which lat

ria, Cardinal, canons, and all the clergy and all the People went to the altar of the Madonna. After certain prayers, the Prior of the Signori, in the name of the magnificent Commune of Siena, offered up the keys of the City of Siena upon the altar of the said Madonna. Lorenzo d'Antonio di Ser Lorenzo was the old Captain of the People, and Andrea di Sano Batteloro was Prior, and Crescenzio di Pietro di Goro the new Captain. Th

ts St Catherine receiving the Stigmata, and reflects the suddenly revived cult of her which was curiously noticeable-as a kind of protest against the corruption of the Curia-during the jubilee of the following year. For the Gabella of 1526 we have the splendid victory of Camollia, ascribed to Giovanni di Lorenzo Cini. For 1542-painted for the Camarlingo di Gabella, Conte del Rondina-is an allegory of the reforms attempted by Granvelle and Sfondrato. The Sienese ship of State is borne safely to port over perilous seas by a great sail (gran vela), with a leafless tree (sfrondato) for mast, while her predecessor has been shattered to pieces upon the rocks.[148] The Tavola di Biccherna of 1548 is a beautiful Madonna of the school of Beccafumi. Then come four pictures of the heroic last days of the Republic, all four ascribed to Giorgio di Giovanni; for both Biccherna and Gabella of 1552, the destruction of the Citadel that Don Diego had built; for the Bic

o in the Statutes of the Arte di Mercanzia, 1472, and by Niccolò di Ser Sozzo Tegliacci r

n honour of the Immaculate Conception in 1526, and painted by Giovanni di Lorenzo Cini. While the battle is raging outside the walls, Heaven opens and the Madonna appears with Angels, to protect her chosen city from papal aggression. Over the third altar on the left is a poetically conceived Nativity by Beccafumi, unfortunately much darkened, painted about 1523, with what Vasari calls un ballo di Angeli bellissimo-exquisite Angels clustering round the D

ntrada. It was built in 1531, in commemoration of the great victory over the papal forces in 1526, and contains a famous miraculous picture of the Immaculate Conception-the Madonna between St James and St Christopher-painted in 1545 in honour of the same event by Giovanni di Lorenzo Cini, who was also one of the operai presiding over the construction of the oratory, and had himself fought in the

Child with Angels, and the two donors presented by their patron saints; and, up above Matteo's picture, a little Nativity, by Taddeo di Bartolo. In the left aisle is the Madonna del Belvedere, painted by Giacomo di Mino del Pellicciaio in 1363, his best work; the figures on either side, St Joseph with the Divine Child holding a crown of thorns, the Magdalene with the baby Baptist, are ascribed by Mr Berenson to Fungai. By Fungai too is the Coronation of the Madonna on the high altar. In the second chapels, to right and left of the choir, are the remains, much restored, of

ruined palace, in the style of the Florentine Quattrocento, now known as the Rifugio, built about 1474, probably by Giuliano da Maiano, for the Abbot and monks of San Galgano, whose device of the sword stuck fast in the rock is seen still on the exterior. There is a curious petition of theirs to the Signoria, dated May 31st, 1474, in which they explain that they have begun this palace, "having a desire to convert their little income to the honour and ornament of yo

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out in 1555, with the long line of republican exiles, and the triumphant entry of the Marchese di Marignano. A short way beyond the gate is the church of Sta. Maria degli Angioli, a building of the latter part of the Quattrocento; the altar-piece (in a rich frame by Antonio Barili),

derived from "Il Santo viene," "the Saint cometh,"-the cry raised by the people when the relics of St Ansanus were brought to the city. Outsi

est of all Matteo Balducci's works, thoroughly Umbrian in feeling. On the right is the Cappella degli Spagnuoli, decorated with frescoes (circa 1530), painted in the days of the first Spanish occupation of Siena by Bazzi; the Madonna investing St Alphonso with the episcopal robes, in the presence of two radiantly beautiful virgin martyrs and Angels; St James, represented as a Spanish knight in full armour, superbly mounted, slaying Saracens; St Thomas and St Michael, St Sebastian and St Antony. The single figures are of the utmost beauty. The large

of the Socinians), which was afterwards a palace of the Malavolti, the Via di Follonica leads to the church of San Giovanni Battista in Pantaneto, which possesses a terra-cotta statue of the Baptist, ascribed to Giacomo Cozzarelli, and several pictures of scenes from his life by Rutilio Manetti. Lower down to the right is one of Siena's characteristic mediaeval fountains, the Fonte di Follonica, probably constructed in the early years of the thirteenth century. Opposite the Palazzo del Governo, is the Stud

the church bears witness (and there is a most unsavoury novella of Pietro Fortini's to the same effect), this part of the city was notorious for its evil living, mainly given up to houses of ill-fame, especially in the days of the Spanish occupation. According to the legend, St Catherine had set up a little shrine with an image of the Madonna here, which was rediscovered by Brandano, who declared t

st typical and austerely Franciscan of all the Italian Gothic churches of Tuscany. The paintings and sculptures that it contains are mere fragments of its original decorations, and for the most part transferred from other parts of the church and convent. The ruined fresco of the Visitation, on the right of the entrance, is ascribed by Mr Berenson to Taddeo di Bartolo. In the second chapel on the right of the choir is the monument of Cristoforo Felici (one of the Operai of the Duomo) of 1462, one of the best works of Urbano da Cortona. In the choir are marble half-length portraits of Silvio Piccolomini and Vittoria Forteguerri, the only remains of the sumptuous monument that their son, Pope Pius II., raised to their memory in 1458. In the first chapel on the left is a frescoed Crucifixion by Pietro Lorenzetti, and in the third chapel are two scenes from the history of th

cchia and Beccafumi, painted between 1518 and 1532, among the finest achievements of these three masters, under a richly decorated roof of the end of the Quattrocento by Giuliano Turapilli. On the left wall are: St Louis of Anjou by Bazzi; the Nativity of the Madonna, by Pacchia, showing Florentine influence; the Presentation in the Temple, by Bazzi; the Sposalizio by Beccafumi; San Bernardino by Pacchia. On the altar wall, between the Archangel and the Virgin of the Annunciation by Pacchia, is a grandiose fresco by Beccafumi (painted in 1537,

en St Peter and St Paul; the central scene is a copy, with variations and some change of sentiment, from the well-known picture by Simone Martini an

1465 (i.e. 1466)-"the least of your children and servants, the Officers over the Adornment of your City, with due reverence set forth that they are continually

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of the State occasionally met here in the first days of Guelf preponderance after the battle of Colle, and it was here that King Robert of Naples was entertained in 1310. In earlier times-those eventful days that preceded Montaperti-the General Council met in San Cristofano opposite. The column with the Lupa-though the present wolf only dates from the seventeenth century-was originally erected in 1260, after Montaperti, in token of this. The church itself was modernised in the eighteenth cent

lessandro. At the corner of the Piazza Salimbeni is the Palazzo Spannocchi, begun in 1473 for Messer Ambrogio Spannocchi, the treasurer of Pius II. It is a perfect type of the massive, yet graceful domestic architecture of the Florentine Quattr

richest young nobles of the city, is secretly enamoured of Angelica Montanini, whose brother Carlo is the last of a noble but now ruined house, between which and the Salimbeni there is a deadly feud. Thrown into prison on a trumped-up charge of plotting against the popular regime, a price is set upon Carlo's life; he refuses to pay, lest his sister should be reduced to beggary, and is about to perish on the scaffold when Anselmo steps in and pays the fine to excess. The expedient by which Carlo and Angelica attempt to repay their debt to Anselmo is somewhat repugnant to our modern code of ethics or conventions-it appears again in the underplot of Thomas Heywood's A Woman Killed with Kindness-but it ends in the marriage of Anselmo and Angelica in San Donato to the great delight of all the city. In the other story, Ippolito Saracini has fallen passionately in love with Cangenova, the youngest of the three orphan daughters of Messer Reame Salimbeni, and his love is returned. Bu

the most famous of the Sienese academies-the Intronati. Among its treasures are two of the original letters sent by St Catherine from Rome to Ste

s Queen of the Snows, with a predella illustrating the legend of the building of Sta. Maria Maggiore at Rome, was painted by Matteo di Giovanni in 1477; a most poetically conceived work and one of the most beautiful pictures of the Sienese Quattrocento. This part of the Terzo d

ma, the palace in which the brigata spendereccia, the extravagant young club of Sienese nobles recorded by Dante in canto xxix. of the Inferno, ran through their fortunes. There has been much throwing about of brains upon the question whether this notorious brigata spendereccia is, or is not, to be identified with the brigata nobile e cortese of which Folgore da San Gimignano sung, and whether Dante's "Niccolò who first discovered the rich usage of

preserved. In the cloisters is a large Assumption, mingling Sienese and Umbrian influences, the work of Matteo Balducci and (according to Mr Berenson) in part of Pietro di Domenico. On the first floor are: an Annunciation by Sano di Pietro; a Madonna and

vanni delle Bombarde) they join company with their "two winsome youths, most disposed to the service of love," and walk out with them in the cool as far as the Palazzo de' Diavoli.[158] The marble high altar, with the Pietà and exquisitely worked setting, is the masterpiece of Lorenzo di Mariano, executed in 1517 and, according to the legend, sent to Rome on mules for the edification of Leo X. The frescoed Assumption, in the lunette above the altar, is by Girolamo di Benvenuto. On the right wall is a Coronation of the Madonna by F

ar as the Duomo gorgeously decorated. Inside the gate there was a structure to look like a Paradise with a choir of boys dressed as angels; when the Pope drew near, one of them descended from his place and sung so sweetly, commending the city to him, that Pius burst into tears. When Charles VIII. of France entered here in

way further on, on the road towards Florence, is the Palatium Turcorum, the palace of the Turchi (a family of the Noveschi who were connected with the Piccolomini), a red brick structure with a fine tower. It has been popularly called, from the fifteenth century downwards, the Palazzo de' Diavoli. The chapel is a fine piece of Renaissance architecture by Antonio Federighi, with a frieze som

d Duke. The church of San Stefano, on the Lizza, contains over the high altar the masterpiece of St Catherine's painter disciple, the reformer Andrea di Vanni, painted about 1400. It is a typical Sienese picture, but of no surpassing merit; the Madonna and Child are enthroned in the central panel, with the Annunciation above; a

r circuit o