Siena Cathedral

Siena Cathedral, also known as the Duomo di Siena, is a beautiful medieval church located in Siena, Italy. It has always been a very important place for the people of Siena, and it represents their history and culture. Construction began in the early 13th century and continued for many years, though it slowed down when the Black Death struck in 1348.

The cathedral was built on the site of an older structure and has the shape of a Latin cross. It includes special features like a dome with a hexagonal base and a bell tower with six bells, the oldest of which was made in 1149. Inside, the nave is separated from the side aisles by semicircular arches. The church’s exterior and interior are made from white and greenish-black marble arranged in stripes, with red marble on the front. These black and white colors are special to Siena, representing the horses of the city’s legendary founders, Senius and Aschius.

Many famous Italian artists helped build and decorate the cathedral, including Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Over time, the cathedral became the main church for the area, first for the Diocese of Siena and later for the Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino. Today, it remains an important religious and historical site.

Early history

The first building on the site of Siena Cathedral was a church from the 9th century. In 1058, an important meeting happened there to choose a new pope. In 1196, a group called the Opera di Santa Maria took charge of building a new cathedral. By 1215, people were already holding daily services there.

Work continued for many years. In the 1250s, workers built the vaults and the transept. Artists carved beautiful wooden seats called choir-stalls and made a shiny copper ball for the dome. In 1287, they ordered colorful stained glass for a big round window. Plans in 1339 wanted to make the cathedral much larger, but building stopped in 1348 because of a terrible disease. Today, you can still see parts of those old plans around the cathedral.

Façade

Work on the west façade of Siena Cathedral began around 1284. It was built with colorful polychrome marble and designed by Giovanni Pisano, who was inspired by his father, Nicola Pisano. The façade has three main doors, each with special designs and sculptures, including scenes from the Bible and figures of important people.

Later, other artists changed some of Giovanni Pisano’s plans. They added a big rose window and made the façade taller. The top part of the façade has detailed decorations inspired by French Gothic style, which looks very different from the simpler designs below. Today, many of the statues are copies, with the originals kept safe in a museum nearby the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

Interior

The Siena Cathedral has beautiful black and white marble columns and walls, matching the city's coat of arms. The columns have carved tops with special designs, and the ceiling is painted blue with golden stars. There is a large stained-glass window made in 1288 by Duccio, showing the Assumption of Mary, which is very important because the cathedral is dedicated to her.

The dome has a golden top, and around it are paintings of important religious figures. There are also special marble fonts and a grand high altar with detailed carvings and statues. The area behind the altar has wooden seats with intricate carvings made by artists many years ago.

Pulpit

Main article: Pulpit (Siena Cathedral)

The pulpit in Siena Cathedral was created between 1265 and 1268 by the artist Nicola Pisano and others. It is made from beautiful Carrara marble and shows scenes from the Life of Christ and stories about salvation. The pulpit’s design mixes Gothic and classical styles, making it a special and important piece in the cathedral. A staircase added in 1543 moved the pulpit to its current spot.

The marble floor

The Siena Cathedral has a very beautiful marble floor with many colorful designs. This floor was made over many years, from the 1300s to the 1500s, by about forty artists. It has 56 different pictures, some shaped like rectangles and others like hexagons or rhombuses. These pictures show stories from old times, wise people, and important figures from history.

You can only see the full marble floor for a few weeks each year, usually including September. Most of the time, some parts are covered, but you can still see a little bit near the entrance.

Main article: The marble floor

The nave has pictures from classical antiquity, which is unusual for a church of that time. These were added because two Sienese popes believed that knowledge from classical authors and figures was important. At the entrance of the nave is a scene with Hermes Trismegistus, who was seen as the founder of human wisdom. There is also The She-Wolf of Siena, showing a wolf with the symbols of major Italian cities, and Allegory of the Mount of Wisdom, showing wise men led up a path to Wisdom.

The side aisles have ten panels of the Sibyls, which are figures that represent different parts of the world at that time. Each Sibyl is shown against a black and red background.

The transepts and chancel show stories from the Bible, focusing on the theme of salvation. In the left transept, there are panels like The Expulsion of Herod and The Slaughter of the Innocents. The chancel has scenes from the lives of Elijah and Ahab, including Moses Striking Water from the Rock and Scenes from the Life of Moses on Mount Sinai. The right transept includes The Seven Ages of Man, showing the stages of a person’s life, and The Death of Absalom, among other scenes.

Main articles: Nave and aisles, Transepts and chancel

Works of art

The Siena Cathedral is filled with amazing artworks that make it feel like a museum. You can see The Feast of Herod by Donatello, along with pieces by famous artists like Bernini and the young Michelangelo. One famous painting, the Annunciation between St. Ansanus and St. Margaret, was created by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi. Though it used to hang in the cathedral, it now lives in the Uffizi in Florence.

The cathedral also has beautiful sculptures and monuments, like the funeral monument for Cardinal Riccardo Petroni made by Tino di Camaino. There are also artworks such as the bronze tombstone of Bishop Giovanni Pecci, made by Donatello, and the wall tomb of Bishop Tommaso Piccolomini del Testa by Neroccio di Bartolomeo de' Landi. Many of the cathedral’s treasures, including Duccio’s famous Maestà altarpiece, are now kept safe in the nearby Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

Chapel of Saint John the Baptist

The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist is located in the left transept of Siena Cathedral. At the back of the chapel, you can find a bronze statue of St. John the Baptist made by the artist Donatello around 1455, surrounded by beautiful Renaissance decorations. In the middle of the chapel stands a marble font from the 15th century.

The chapel is also home to eight frescos painted by Pinturicchio between 1504 and 1505. These frescos include scenes such as the Nativity of John the Baptist, John the Baptist in the Desert, and John the Baptist Preaching. Pinturicchio also created two portraits, showing a knight in armor and a man named Aringhieri.

The Chigi Chapel

The Chigi Chapel is a beautiful and important part of Siena Cathedral, located in the right transept. It was built in 1659 and features a round shape with a golden dome. Two famous marble statues here are Saint Jerome and Mary Magdalene, created by the artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The chapel holds a special painting called the Madonna del Voto, which people still honor today. Long ago, before a big battle, the people of Siena asked the Madonna for help, and they won against a much larger army, believing she protected them.

Piccolomini Library

The Piccolomini Library was commissioned in 1492 by Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, who later became Pope Pius III. It was meant to house the book collection of his uncle, Pope Pius II, which included works in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Although many original books are lost, the library still contains beautiful illuminated manuscripts.

The library’s entrance features a large marble wall with grand arches, created by Lorenzo di Mariano in 1497. Inside, walls are covered with colorful frescoes painted by Pinturicchio between 1502 and 1507. These frescoes show important moments from the life of Pope Pius II. The ceiling has four panels with mythological scenes, and the floor is made of blue ceramics with crescent moons. In the center of the room stands a marble statue of the Three Graces.

Baptistry

Main article: Battistero di San Giovanni (Siena)

Unlike Florence or Pisa, Siena did not build a separate baptistry. Its baptistry is located underneath the eastern part of the choir in the Siena Cathedral. The interior was mostly built by Camaino di Crescentino and finished around the year 1325. The main feature is a hexagonal baptismal font with beautiful sculptures and reliefs made by famous artists Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, and Lorenzo Ghiberti.

Crypt

Located under the main church, the cathedral's crypt was rediscovered in 1999. Scholars had known about it from old records but weren't sure how much of it had survived. The room was filled with dirt and other materials over the years. Near the end of the 13th century, artists decorated the walls and pillars with bright frescos. These frescos show forty-five scenes from the Old and New Testaments, including the Passion of Jesus, and are bordered by beautiful geometric patterns and designs.