SIENA

Cue (NZERS), Issue 14, 31 December 1944, Page 20

SIENA

By

' . * THE city of Siena, situated on an J irregular and steeply sloping hill surrounded by nearly seven kilometres of, walls, has luckily .'escaped damage during the recent fighting. '

Like all the larger cities of Tuscany, Siena was once the centre of an

independent republic which preserved

its freedom in the face of repeated disasters and great hardships. ‘ The people of Siena are proud of their city, of its heroic past —its contributions to

painting, architecture and the lesser arts of carving and wrought iron work, and of its quaint customs, / especially the Palio.

Siena had a relatively brief period of supremacy, and its greatest. years were a short space between 1260 and 1269. It continued to undergo sieges and great internal difficulties even when neighbouring states were more or less tranquil.

The city shows a remarkable uniformity of style in many of its major public buildings, palaces and churches, due in large measure to the tremendous building activity during the brief years of its supremacy. It was late in experiencing the influences of the Renaissance and these were slight in their effects on / architecture which retains the best feeling of th Q Italian Gothic. Thus II Campo, that irregular cobbled Piazza in the centre of the town, is dominated by two of the best examples of this style, and many other Palazzi retain its essentials. The Cathedral is also a superb example. Siena has a charm which is felt as soon as one enters its narrow streets.

The first thing to strike the "visitor is the prominent Wolf and Twins symbol. The best examples are those in the Piazza Tolemei and.-the XVth Century example outside the Palazzo Pubblico. Siena claims its origin from the sons of Remus but does not seriously believe this. It seems possible, however that a small settlement did exist before the IVth Century B.C. A second legend is that the Gauls of Brennus left their sick and their herds near Siena on their way to sack Rome in 387 B.C.

A Roman Colonia Sena Julia also known as the Urbs Lupata or City of the Wolf was formed, under the Lombards. Siena grew and Charlemagne ruled it through one of his counts. Later, it came under the jurisdiction of its bishop, who for many years pursued a desultory struggle with the more powerful Bishop of Arezzo. ’ This feud with Arezzo persisted with intervals for centuries, and the last word went to Arezzo, for during the disturbances of 1799 bands of so-called patriots from that city entered Siena. The pillage was worthy of the Middle Ages and the old sport of Jewburning was revived during the sack of the town. The French association with Siena has also been a long one. \ French troops helped both to defend and betray the Republic during its -last struggle for independence which ended in April, 1555. Two important battles figure in the town’s history. The first was Monteaperti, 1260, when the ‘Senese,.' with allied contingents, completely defeated the Florentines. The second is the siege

of 554- The rich were in favour of peace, but the masses insisted on resistance to the end. In the face of starvation, all useless mouths were driven outside the city and many children and . infirm were killed by the besiegers. Three companies of women, numbering nearly- a thousand apiece, were raised for the defence of the city which was prolonged until April 1555. Then the French troops left with the honours of war, accompanied by seven

hundred families who preferred exile to the terms, of the peace. * Siena has so much of interest that it is recommended to start in 11 Campo, the scene of the famous annual Palio. •The Palio was only initiated in its present form about 1655. Each of the 17 districts 7of the city is represented by its standard bearers, its contrada

and its horse and rider. The Standards are hung in the Cathedral on the days preceding the Festivals, the greater of which is on July 2 followed by a second on August 16. Ro other city in Europe has a similar race. The Palazzo Pubblico is the finest Gothic Palazzo in Tuscany. It was built between 1288 and 1309, with a few later additions. -The Wolf and Twins is an original statue dating from about 1460. In the interior is a series of magnificent public rooms, a Chapel and vestibules which contain some of tire .finest murals and frescoes of the XlVth Century. Among the specially important works are the Good and Bad Government of Lorenzzetti, the Ancona of Duccio dei Buoninsegna and tne Maesta of Simone Martini whose mural of Guido Riccio riding outside tne wahs is also a masterpiece. Siena was the

centre of an important school of painting even before the XlVth Century. The Chapel has some superb wrought iron railings: there is also a picture of S. Ansano by Sodoma in which a kneeling figure at the left exactly recalls Michelangelo’s head of Adam in the Sistine Chapel.

The cathedral next demands attention but should time permit, a visit to S. Dominico and to S. Giovanni Battista —which has several Donatellosand to Santa Maria dei Servi is worth while.

The cathedral at first glance seems so strange with its mass of carved detail,, and the use of alternating bands of black and white stone that its. full beauty is not appreciated. For this reason it is preferable to pay one or two quick visits and then later study the immense detail. The use of banded stone of different colour is common in central Italy and is partly K a result of Moorish -influence. Indeed, many

people feel that the interior is reminiscent of North Africa. Southern Spain or Morocco afford better parallels.

The Cathedral of Siena was commenced early in the XHlth Century and finished, except for the facade, in 1267. It is a remarkable commentary on the methods of the day that the name of the architect is unknown and the first architect whose name has come down is Giovanni Pisano who designed the facade.

Siena Cathedral as it appears' today was intended merely as the 7 transept of the "New Cathedral" which after many vicissitudes and the decimation of the Black Death in 1348, was abandoned. Some of its walls can be seen to the east of the present church, and the north aisle of the unfinished building serves as the museum for the cathedral. This is well worth visiting as it has, among many treasures, a complete set of the artists drawings for the engraved marble floor of the cathedral, much of which is normally covered over. This marble floor is remarkable for a series of plaques by Beccafumi who has succeeded in drawing in marble with the delicacy of a woodcut. Pinturicchio and Bastianq di Francesco contributed, to the wonderful floor.

In the Cathedral is the Piccolomini Library. It has ten fine .frescoes bv Pinturicchio, the’ artist of the Borgia' apartments at the Vatican. So fresh is the colouring of these masterpieces that they appear to be only a f ew years old. One of the Kings of Scotland is figured in the series. The choir-stalls of the Cathedral show - the superb craftsmanship of the XlVth and XV th Century Senese while in the sacristy is one of the finest of wrought iron gates. The terracotta heads in the nave are all Popes, of whom Siena has found eight.

Leaving the cathedral, one crosses the Piazza to the Ospedale Della Scala in which are several important frescoes. Siena has an Academy of Fine Art and also a private collection of the first importance in the Palazzo Saracini, to which admission can be obtained only by invitation.

he gates of the city survive, and of these the Porta Romana is, perhaps, as well preserved as any. The Porta Camoilia at the northern end has had a very lucky escape from bombs. Ihe back streets well repay attention, and hardly any of the lesser palazzi, small churches and curious, arched, byways like the Via del Galluza are without interest. Behind the main Piazza are to be found such simple and pleasing little structures as the Loggia di Pio 11. The Senese still retain their great pride in their city and also that curiously long memory for ancient wrongs which is to be found all over Italy.