The Civic Museum of Siena

In the Public Palace of Siena, there is one of the most important museums in Italy: the Civic Museum, a series of rooms that house some masterpieces of Tuscan art. This museum is accessed from the courtyard of the Public Palace, through an iron staircase. The Public Palace itself is a work of art: it is one of the main civil buildings in Italy and, with its Gothic silhouette, has dominated Piazza del Campo for over 700 years. All the destinies of Siena have been decided in these rooms, which today host extraordinary artworks.

It is the most important room in the Museum: it takes its name from the great "World Map" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, which was destroyed three centuries ago, a rotating mechanism where Siena was represented at the center with all the conquered lands surrounding it. From this hall began the decoration program of the Public Palace with a grand work, the "Maestà" by Simone Martini.

This work was created alongside a similar one that Duccio di Buoninsegna was painting in the same years (1312) for the high altar of the Cathedral. The Virgin was chosen to testify to the special devotion the Sienese have had, at all times, towards the Madonna, as demonstrated by the Palio on August 15th dedicated to her.

The Madonna is at the center of the painting, sitting on a royal throne and surrounded by Saints. In the foreground, two angels present her with baskets of flowers, while the Sienese Saints present her with supplications asking her to protect her city. In the fresco is written: "Diletti mei ponete nelle menti/che li devoti vostri preghi onesti/ come vorrete voi faro co(n)tenti/ma se i potenti ai debili fien molesti/gravando loro o con vergogne o danni/le vostre oration non son per questi/ne per qualunque la mia terra inganni". In essence: govern well and I will watch over you. Otherwise, nothing.

Simone Martini also created the fresco "Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the Siege of Montemassi" on the opposite wall, an allegory of the expansion of Siena. Below "Guidoriccio", Sodoma painted in 1529 two of the Sienese patron Saints: "Saint Victor" and "Saint Ansano". On the wall in front of the windows, at the top, is depicted the "Battle of Val di Chiana" by Lippo Vanni (1363) and the "Battle of Poggio Imperiale" against the Florentines, painted by Giovanni di Cristofano Ghini and Francesco d'Andrea. At the bottom is a Gallery of the most venerated Sienese Saints: from the "Saint Bernard" by Sano di Pietro, executed in the year of his canonization (1450), to "Saint Catherine" by Vecchietta (1460) and "Blessed Bernardo Tolomei", founder of the Olivetans (Sodoma, circa 1530).

This is the most famous and visited hall of the Public Palace of Siena. It is commonly referred to as the Hall of the Nine, recalling the form of government that ruled over Siena from 1287 to 1355, transforming it into a splendid and powerful city. In 1337, the Nine commissioned Ambrogio Lorenzetti to decorate the environment where they received guests. The intent was to immediately convey to the guests the ideals guiding them in the governance of Siena. The result is the Allegory of Good and Bad Government, the first cycle of non-religious art history.

In the painting above the window, the protagonists are a wise old man dressed in the colors of Siena (black and white) and "Justice" with the symbolic scales. The Government relies on Christian virtues while Justice operates assisted by Wisdom. From the plates of the balance, a double thread leads to twenty-four citizens who connect it back to the Government. On the other side of the painting, the army is depicted with prisoners in chains. The separation of powers, citizen participation, and military strength are the elements that determine the "Good Government" of a city. On the adjacent wall, "The effects of good government in the city and in the countryside" are depicted. The visible city is Siena, with the Via Francigena cutting through the city and countryside. The "Securitas", or security, watches over and ensures the citizens' freedom to dedicate themselves to work.

On the opposite wall, the "Allegory and Effects of Bad Government" is depicted, showing "Tyranny" whose advisors are the "Vices", with Justice bound and stripped, and with the effect of reducing city and countryside to a place of violence, death, and destruction.

THE CHAPEL

Contains a cycle of five frescoes by Taddeo di Bartolo from the Annunciation, placed above the altar, to the four large scenes on the left wall depicting: The farewell to the Apostles, The death of the Virgin, The funeral of the Virgin, The Assumption.

THE GALLERY

The gallery of the Public Palace houses several collections of detached frescoes, panels, and canvases from both Sienese schools and Italian and foreign authors. In the first room, the four large canvases representing "Hunting Scenes" stand out, already attributed to Joseph Roos, a large "Samaritan at the Well" by Mattia Preti, and a delicate "Madonna with Child, Saints, and Angels" by the Venetian Brusasorzi. In the second room are the "sinopie" of the frescoes executed by Sodoma for the Chapel of Piazza del Campo, the "Cataletto" work by Bartolomeo di David, coming from the Company of Saint Onofrio, a "Madonna with Child and Angels" by Andrea Piccinelli known as il Brescianino, and another "Cataletto" painted by Ventura Salimbeni.

Opening hours: from November to March 15th from 10 AM to 6 PM. From March 16th to October from 10 AM to 7 PM

Ticket price: €10 without reservation. €11 with reservation.

Combined tickets

Civic Museum + Santa Maria della Scala €14.00

Civic Museum + Torre del Mangia €15.00

Civic Museum + Santa Maria della Scala + Torre del Mangia €20.00; Families (2 adults + minors over 11 years) €40

Family Ticket (2 adults + minors over 11 years) €22.00

Free: residents of the Municipality of Siena, minors under 11 years, Sienaese public and university schools, accompanying teachers, group leaders (1 for every 10 people), persons with disabilities, journalists.

How to get there: on foot in the historic center of Siena.