SienaCountryRegionProvinceFrazioniGovernment • MayorArea[1] • TotalElevationPopulation(31 December 2017[2])[3] • Total • DensityDemonym(s)Time zone • Summer (DST)Postal codeDialing codePatron saintSaint dayWebsiteUNESCO World Heritage SiteCriteriaReferenceInscriptionAreaBuffer zone
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuries.[5]Siena is also home to theoldest bank in the world, theMonte dei Paschi bank, which has been operating continuously since 1472.[6]
Siena was one of the most important cities inmedievalEurope, and its historic is aUNESCO World Heritage Site.[8][11]From January until the end of September of 2021 it had about 217,000 arrivals, with the largest numbers of foreign visitors coming from Germany, France and the Netherlands.[12]Siena is famous for itscuisine,art,museums, medieval cityscape and thePalio, a horse race held twice a year inPiazza del Campo.
Capitoline Wolf atSiena Duomo. According to a legend Siena was founded bySenius and Aschius, two sons of Remus. When they fledRome, they took the statue of the She-wolf to Siena, which became a symbol of the town.
Siena, like otherTuscanhill towns, was first settled in the time of theEtruscans(c. 900–400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. The Etruscans were a tribe of advanced people who changed the face of central Italy through their use ofirrigationto reclaim previously unfarmable land, and their custom of building their settlements in well-defendedhill forts. ARomantown calledSaena Juliawas founded at the site in the time of the EmperorAugustus.[13]
According to local legend, Siena was founded bySenius and Aschius, two sons ofRemusand thus nephews ofRomulus, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their father's murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants (Capitoline Wolf), thus appropriating that symbol for the town.[citation needed]Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to theBalzana, or coat of arms of Siena with a white band atop a dark band. Some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family nameSaina, the Roman family nameSaenii, or theLatinwordsenex"old" or its derived formseneo"to be old".
Siena did not prosper under Roman rule. It was not sited near any major roads and lacked opportunities for trade. Its insular status meant that Christianity did not penetrate until the 4th century AD, and it was not until theLombardsinvaded Siena and the surrounding territory that it knew prosperity.[citation needed]After the Lombard occupation, the oldRoman roadsofVia Aureliaand theVia Cassiapassed through areas exposed to Byzantine raids, so the Lombards rerouted much of their trade between the Lombards' northern possessions and Rome along a more secure road through Siena. Siena prospered as a trading post, and the constant streams ofpilgrimspassing to and from Rome provided a valuable source of income in the centuries to come.
The oldestaristocraticfamilies in Siena date their line to the Lombards' surrender in 774 toCharlemagne. At this point, the city was inundated with a swarm ofFrankishoverseers who married into the existing Sienese nobility and left a legacy that can be seen in the abbeys they founded throughout Sienese territory.[citation needed]Feudalpower waned, however, and by the death ofCountess Matildain 1115 the border territory of theMarch of Tuscanywhich had been under the control of her family, the Canossa, broke up into several autonomous regions. This ultimately resulted in the creation of theRepublic of Siena.[13]
The Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the 12th century until 1555. During the golden age of Siena before theBlack Deathin 1348, the city was home to 50,000 people.[14]A major economic centre and among the most important cities in Europe, as well as the main political, economic, and artistic rival of its neighboring city of Florence.[5][15]
In theItalian War of 1551–59, the republic was defeated by the rivalFlorencein alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17 April 1555, marking the end of the republic.[16]
After the fall of the Republic, a few Sienese led by the Florentine exilePiero Strozzi, not wanting to accept the fall of the Republic, took refuge inMontalcino, creating the Republic of Siena sheltered in Montalcino. It lived until May 31, 1559 when it was betrayed by the French allies, whom Siena had always supported, concluding with thePeace of Cateau CambrésiswithCharles V, that effectively ceded the Republic to the Medici.[17]
TheHouse of Medici, apart from the brief parenthesis ofFerdinando I, who tried to create an organized state, were not able to give a stable structure to theGrand Duchy of Tuscany, keeping almost unchanged the division between the so-called Old State, i.e. Florence, and the New State, i.e. Siena and the southern part up toPitigliano, with different laws and taxes. With the death ofGian Gastone de' Medici, (1737), who had no children, the Medici dynasty ended and the Grand Duchy passed into the hands of theHabsburg-Lorraine dynastywho kept it until 1799.[17]
Siena is located in the central part ofTuscany, in the middle of a vast hilly landscape between theArbiariver valley (south), theMersevalley (south-west), the Elsa valley (north), theChiantihills (north-east), the Montagnola Senese (west) and theCrete Senesi(south-east). The city lies at 322 m (1,056 ft) above sea level.
Siena has a typical inland Mediterranean climate. Average rainfall is 750 mm (29.5 in), with the maximum in November and the minimum in July. July is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 22.2 °C (72.0 °F), and January the coldest.[19]
TheSiena Cathedral(Duomo), begun in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of ItalianRomanesque–Gothic architecture. Its main façade was completed in 1380 with a nave oriented northeast–southwest. A proposed expansion of the eastern transept would have transformed the church into an ambitiously massive basilica, the largest then in the world, with an east–west nave. However, the scarcity of funds, in part due to war and the Black Death, truncated the project. Two walls of this expanded eastern transept remain; through an internal staircase, visitors can climb for a grand view of the city.
TheSiena Cathedral Pulpitis an octagonal 13th-century masterpiece sculpted byNicola Pisanowith lion pedestals and biblical bas-relief panels. The inlaid marble mosaic floor of the cathedral, designed and labored on by many artists, is among the most elaborate in Italy. The Sacristy and Piccolomini library have well preservedRenaissancefrescos byGhirlandaioandPinturicchiorespectively. Other sculptors active in the church and in the subterraneanbaptistryareDonatello,Lorenzo Ghiberti,Jacopo della Querciaand others. The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo contains Duccio's famousMaestà(1308–11) and various other works by Sienese masters. More Sienese paintings are to be found in the Pinacoteca, e.g. 13th-century works byDietisalvi di Speme.
ThePiazza del Campo, the shell-shaped town square, unfurls before thePalazzo Pubblicowith its tallTorre del Mangia. This is part of the site for thePaliohorse race. The Palazzo Pubblico, itself a great work of architecture, houses yet another important art museum. Included within the museum isAmbrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes depicting theAllegory and Effects of Good and Bad Governmentand also some of the finest frescoes ofSimone MartiniandPietro Lorenzetti.
ThePalazzo Salimbeni, located in a piazza of the same name, was the original headquarters and remains in possession of theMonte dei Paschi di Siena, one of the oldest banks in continuous existence in Europe.
Sanctuary ofSanta Caterina, incorporating the old house ofSt. Catherine of Siena. It houses the miraculousCrucifix(late 12th century) from which the saint received herstigmata, and a 15th-century statue of St. Catherine.
The historicSiena synagogueis also preserved and open to visitors.
TheMedicean Fortresshouses theEnoteca Italianaand the Siena Jazz School, with courses and concerts throughout the year, and a festival during the International Siena Jazz Masterclasses.
In the neighbourhood are numerous patrician villas, some of which are attributed toBaldassarre Peruzzi:
Siena retains a ward-centric culture from medieval times. Each ward (contrada) is represented by an animal or mascot, and has its own boundary and distinct identity. Ward rivalries are most rampant during the annualhorse race(Palio) in the Piazza del Campo.[20]There are 17 wards (contrada): Aquila, Bruco, Chiocciola, Civetta, Drago, Giraffa, Istrice, Leocorno, Lupa, Nicchio, Oca, Onda, Pantera, Selva, Tartuca, Torre, Valdimontone.
ThePalio di Sienais a traditional medievalhorse racerun around the Piazza del Campo twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. The event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. Ten randomly selected from 17Contrade(which are city neighbourhoods originally formed asbattalionsfor the city's defence) vie for the trophy: a painted banner, orPaliobearing an image of theBlessed Virgin Mary.
The Church ofSan Domenicocontains art byGuido da Siena, dating to the mid-13th century. Duccio'sMaestà, which was commissioned by the City of Siena in 1308, was instrumental in leading Italian painting away from the hieratic representations ofByzantine artand directing it towards more direct presentations of reality. And hisMadonna and Child with Saintspolyptych, painted between 1311 and 1318, remains at the city'sPinacoteca Nazionale.
Agriculture constitutes Siena's primary industry. As of 2009, Siena's agricultural workforce comprises 919 companies with a total area of 10.755 square kilometres (4.153 sq mi) for a UAA (usable agricultural area) of 6.954 square kilometres (2.685 sq mi) or about1⁄30of the total municipal area (dataISTATfor the 2000 Agriculture CensusV).
The industrial sector of the Sienese economy is not very developed. However, the area has seen recent growth in important core manufacturing enterprises.
Theconfectioneryindustry is one of the most important of the traditional sectors of the secondary industry, because of the many local specialties. Among the best known arePanforte, a precursor to modern fruitcake, Ricciarelli biscuits, made out of almond paste, and the well-knowngingerbread, and the horses. Also renowned is Noto, a sweet made out of honey, almonds and pepper. The area known for making these delicacies ranges between Tuscany andUmbria. Other seasonal specialties are the chestnut and thepan de 'Santi(orPan co' Santi) traditionally prepared in the weeks preceding the Festival ofSaints, 1 November. All are marketed both industrial and artisan bakeries in different cities.
The area has also seen a growth inbiotechnology. The Centenary Institute Sieroterapico Achille Sclavo used to be Swiss-owned, operating under the company name,NovartisVaccines. Novartis developed and produced vaccines and employed about a thousand people. In 2015, the research plant in Siena became part ofGlaxo Smith Kline, as part of a deal betweenNovartisand this firm.[21]
Associazione Calcio Siena(football) was founded in 1904 and fully established in 1908. It was first promoted to Italy's top league,Serie A, for the 2003–04 season and stayed in this serie for nine seasons. After the club's bankruptcy in 2014, a new club namedSocietà Sportiva Robur Sienatook its place and had to restart fromSerie D. Currently it is inLega Proleague. The club hosts its games at theStadio Artemio Franchi.
The premier society of men's basketball in Siena was calledMens Sana Basket(also referred to by itssponsoredname ofMontepaschi Siena). It is also the oldest sports society in Siena. Mens Sana Basket participated in the highest level of play in Italy,Lega Basket Serie A, and it has won the national championship eight times, with a streak of seven (2004 and 2007–13). The team host their home games atPalaEstraindoor arena. Like the local football team, the club went through financial issues in 2014, and its place was taken by the new clubMens Sana 1871, currently in theSerie A2league. The city co-hosted theEuroBasket 1979.
TheStrade Bianchecycling race starts and finishes in Siena
Siena hosts the start and finish of theStrade Bianche, a professionalcycling racefamous for its historic white gravel roads, calledstrade biancheorsterratiin Italian.[22]More than 50 kilometres (31 miles) of the race is run over dirt roads, usually country lanes and farm tracks twisting through the hills and vineyards of the Chianti region. The finish is on thePiazza del Campo, after a steep and narrow climb on the roughly paved Via Santa Caterina leading into the center of the medieval city.[23]
