Siena is in the middle of a hilly area between the valleys of the Arbia south of the Merse and southwest of Elsa in the north, the hills of Chianti to the north-east, Montagnola to west and the Crete Senesi to the south-east. Place in "shell" is the intersection of the three hills that form Siena.

History

Facade of the cathedral of Siena, the Duomo

The cathedral, v. 1890
Photo Paolo Lombardi

According to legend, Siena was founded by Senius Aschius and son of Remus , himself the brother of Romulus (founder of Rome). They fled the city on two horses given by Apollo and Diana , one white and one black, to escape the fury of their uncle Romulus. They stopped in the valley of Tressa and founded a town they named the name of the eldest, Siena (Latin Sena Julia). White and black then became the colors of the city.

Siena was a former colony Rome founded by Augustus. In the fifth ^century, it became episcopal. The city developed from the seventh ^century at the time of the Lombard kings. Become a city free and independent in the twelfth ^century it was the rival of Florence , especially since Ghibelline , that is to say partisan of the Emperor , it was against policy Guelph - in favor of the pope - her neighbor she stood in awe before long to inflict a crushing defeat in 1260 at the Battle of Montaperti.

From the ^twelfth century, the noble owners castellari, urban palaces equipped with a square tower, controlled a network of private streets that connected them to their allies but also to markets and the exit doors on the campaign that allowed them to flee to their fiefdoms. In the aftermath of the battles of the thirteenth ^century, the victorious factions applied to loot the defeated and to burn their palaces. These places, as Carthage in ancient times were considered cursed and is prohibited, as punishment, to reconstruct it. These places become derelict and the sewers while the municipality developed great care to decorate and beautify the city. In some cases, houses were not destroyed but confiscated by the municipality, which razed to widen streets or squares, and it was built Via Posteria Supra, now Costa larga: traced from 1290 The municipality waited for Gabrielle Speranza, whose palace was unfortunately on the way, is declared a traitor and another patrician die, but it took until 1360 for that route is open.

The city gave birth to the ^seventeenth century the Accademia dei Fisiocritici is the Accademia delle Scienze di Siena.

Culture

The historical center dominated by the Torre del Mangia, the Duomo ...

Monuments

The Palazzo Pubblico and the Torre del Mangia

Religious

• The Duomo di Siena , Siena Cathedral, Santa Maria Assunta;
• Former Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in front of the Duomo. It has several floors below the level of the square, with many shrines.
• Oratories of the shrine of St. Catherine of Siena-
• The Basilica of St. Francis
• The Basilica of San Domenico
• The Basilica di San Clemente in Santa Maria dei Servi
• The Church of St. Gaetan
• The Chiesa di San Giorgio
• The Chiesa di San Martino
• The Basilica of the Observance
• The Church Sant'Agostino
• The church Santo Spirito

Civil

• the Piazza del Campo (Campo it), central city;
• The Palazzo Pubblico , Palazzo Comunale, the seat of municipal government, the Cortile del Podest and the Torre del Mangia of 102 m, it houses the Museo Civico.
• The fountain called Fonte Gaia , originally carved by Jacopo della Quercia between 1409 and 1419. Freely remade in 1868 by marble Sarrocchi Tito.

• The Loggia della Mercanzia
• The Palazzo delle Priestess , who is hosting a contemporary art center
• The tower houses :
  • Torre dei Forteguerri
  • Torre dei Montanini
  • Torre degli Incontri
• The Mura di Siena , its ramparts and gates

Museums

• The Museo Civico , the first floor of the Palazzo Pubblico.
• The Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo , the Cathedral Museum with original sculptures of the facade, there is a permanent exhibition on the painter Duccio.
• The museum complex at the Hospital Santa Maria della Scala in front of the Duomo. It has several floors, and in recent years, the National Archaeological Museum.
• The national art gallery in Siena.
• The Center for Contemporary Art at the Palazzo delle Priestess.

People born in Siena

(For the painters of this art movement of Renaissance art )

Commemorative Event

Festivals, fairs

The Palio

Il Campo

The famous horse race dates back to the late ^sixteenth century. The Council of Trent banning violent demonstrations (hunting bulls, collective games, etc..) taking place in Siena, in the central square (Campo), the municipality then chooses to create a horse race through the streets of the city.

In 1605 , to improve the safety of residents, the race was moved to the Campo. At the same time, the race is now ran not between individuals (often wealthy aristocrats) but by Contrada , both district and parish of the city.

Each race is contested by 10 horses. The seven excluded contrade run the race next year. It is supplemented by three contrade randomly selected among those who ran last year. Horses are assigned to contrade by lottery taking place on the Piazza del Campo. The race lasts as long as a horse to do three laps of the Campo, which is not much for the average race lasts one or two minutes. Until 1715 , the jockeys used the sovatto, a whip fitted with strips of lead balls. Now they are content with a bullwhip , used primarily to hit their horses, if a rider hits another jockey or their horses, he is disqualified and can not run during the next year. The horse wins the race when he made three laps, he wears his jockey or not (it should, however, that the horse wears the badge of his district if he can not win). The Contrada whose horse wins the colors while the Palio which is called "Cenco" by contrade or cloth because the material seems to be made to touch fabrics. It is wrong to think that the Palio is violent and that the Sienese do not care about horses: they venerate and prefer the horse Fantino (jockey) the radical animal organization will make every effort (but in vain) for prohibit the Palio: the few horses were injured are mourned by Contrada and are cared for, it is only if the animal can not walk it is unfortunately killed. The last horse to have died of his injuries was the horse of Onda in the 90s.

Administration

Hamlets

Costalpino, Isola d'Arbia, Taverne d'Arbia, San Miniato

Common Boundary

Asciano , Castelnuovo Berardenga , Monteriggioni , Monteroni d'Arbia , Sovicille

Demographics

Residents identified

Economy

Transportation

• For topographical reasons, the railway station of Siena is located in down town. It allows connections to Chiusi south, Empoli and then north to Grosseto.
• Siena has an airport ( IATA SAY ) at Ampugnano. Small no rows dessert and links rather performed by Pisa or Florence because it is mainly dedicated to humanitarian flights .

Twinnings

• Avignon ( France )
• Weimar ( Germany )
• Wetzlar ( Germany )

Photo Gallery

• 

  The seventeen contrade Siena , rnires of fifty-nine survivors of the military companies of Siena who distinguished themselves in duecento at the Battle of Montaperti face the Florentines.

• 

  In 2006, the first round of the Palio , run on July 2 , was carried away by Fantino called Brio Andrea Mari, on the horse Choci the contrade Panther's .

• 

  The medieval center and its terzi: placard to the visitor entering the territory of the contrade Noble Eagle .

• 

  Piazza del Campo, 1996.

• 

  The province of Siena.

• 

  The Palio of July 2006, just before the start of a race drive.

References

See also

• List of Italian cities over 25,000 inhabitants
• List of major Italian cities ranked by number of inhabitants

Related articles

• The history of the Town: History of Siena ;
• Other Italian city-republics: Florence , Genoa , Pisa ;
• Artists who worked in Siena: Domenico Beccafumi , Duccio , Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti , Simone Martini ;
• The oldest bank in the world still in operation, the Monte dei Paschi of Siena ;
• A gastronomic specialty: the panforte ;
• Area: the province of Siena

Bibliography

• Anne-Marie Brenot, Siena in the ^{fourteenth-century} frescoes of Lorenzetti: the perfect city, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1999, 85 p. ( ISBN 2738476279 )
• Robert Langton Douglas, History of Siena (trans. George Feuilloy), Librairie Renouard, H. Laurens, Paris, 1914, 2 vols. (1. Political and social history of the republic of Siena, 2. Sienese art), 496 p.
• Odile Redon space of a city: Siena and the Sienese country ^{(XIII-XIV centuries),} French School of Rome, 1994, 324 p. ( ISBN 9782728303144 )
• Andre Suares , "Siena beloved" in The Voyage of the Warlord, Paul-Emile brothers, Paris, 1932
• Damien Wigny, Siena and southern Tuscany, Renaissance book, Tournai, 1998, p. 1007 ( ISBN 2804602095 )

External Links

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