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From the XI century, thanks to its strategic position along the directrix which linked Northern Europe to Rome,
the city of Siena was an important trade centre and increased its power in the following centuries;
known as the city of the Gothic, it “skipped” the Renaissance and all that followed and it has been intact from Middle Age up to now. |
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The cathedral of Siena, started in 1100 and completed after two centuries, is one of the jewels of the Italian art.
The front was made by Giovanni Pisano, inside the famous pulpit by Nicola Pisano, the chapel of the Madonna del Voto,
the wooden chorus and the stained-glass window by Duccio di Buoninsegna, The Piccolomini altar with sculptures by Michelangelo,
the chapel of San Giovanni Battista with a fresco by Pinturicchio and a statue of Donatello.
In the Museum of the Cathedral there are the “Maestà”
by Duccio di Buoninsegna and the most important collection of statues by Giovanni Pisano. |
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Surrounded by the typical Tuscan hilly landscape known all over the world and wholly surrounded by its walls, the city extends on three hills 300 metres above sea level.
The interface of these three hills is “Piazza del Campo”: one of the most beautiful in the world, this square is the theatre of the Palio.
The Public Palace, built in 1300, is one of the most elegant palaces in Tuscany and one of the most wonderful exemplar of Gothic architecture.
Inside there are rooms which host the masterpieces of the Sienese painting: among the others, there are frescos by Simone Martini and paintings by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. |
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