After lunch in yet another hilltown, Castellini in Chianti, our bus took us to Siena.

The Campo in Sienna is almost like an amphitheater. It contains the City Hall and the City Tower. It is in the Campo that the famous horse races are held at Palio time.

The front the Duomo was covered for restoration, so this is a photo from a former trip.

An interesting fact about the duomo is that the original plan was to have the nave extend out at a 90 degrees angle from the present nave. This wall would then have been the front. On the pavement you can see a white square in the shadow near the two people where one of the main pillars would have been. This wall is interesting since it has the spiral staircases inside which allow people to go to the top level of that wall. (See below.)

The interior, with its striped marble arches and beautiful ceiling is as striking as the exterior.

The hexagonal dome adds interest to the overall design.

The marble floor in the interior is unusual. In addition to many marble representations of Biblical stories, such as the slaughter of the innocents, here we have the Sienese she wolf with emblems of the confederate cities.

The Piccolomini Library, begun in 1492, was commissioned by the Archbishop of Siena, who later became Pope Pius III. The library was intended to house the manuscript collection belonging to his uncle Pope Pius II as well as to honor this important humanist scholar. Beautiful illuminated manuscripts are opened all along the perimeter of the library. The walls and ceilings are covered with frescoes by Pinturic.

The far end of the library.

Another fresco,

Photo by Allan Colby.

An illuminated manuscript on display.

A closeup of an illumination.

From the Duomo Museum we can climb a spiral starcase to a panoramic view, shown in part in the header to this page. From this viewpoint one can see what the church was originally designed to be. This wall would have been the front of the church and the space between would have been the nave. The white marks on the pavement would have been the location of the large pillars.

The spire and dome of the Duomo.

From this vantage point, we have a good view of the Campo, Siena's main square.

One last look at the surrounding countryside before we return to the Duomo Museum.

One of the masterpieces of this museum is the Madonna and Child by Donatello.

This is an original 15th century Giotto Rose window, recently restored and now displayed in the museum.

These are statues of 6 of the apostles, which originally stood in the Duomo.

In the baptistery of the Duomo, one can see more frescoes and sculpture.

The base of the baptismal font has sculptures by Ghiberti and Donatello.

After such a busy day, we had dinner in Siena and a quiet bus ride back to the villa.

The next day we will stop in the town of Volterra on our way to Lucca.