ITALY | Siena, Italy Travel Guide
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Destinations Menu
Duomo
Cathedral, Piazza del Duomo
Siena
Siena & its Surroundings
Italy
Type: Religious Site
Hours: Mar-Oct 7:30 am-7:30 pm, Nov-Feb, 7:30 am-5 pm
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
Siena
Siena & its Surroundings
Italy
Type: Religious Site
Hours: Mar-Oct 7:30 am-7:30 pm, Nov-Feb, 7:30 am-5 pm
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
Constructed from 1136 to a design by Giovanni di Pisano, Siena’s cathedral was meant to be the biggest church in the Christian world until the plague, rising costs and technical difficulties all combined to put a spanner in the works. But, incomplete though it may be, it remains one of the most spectacular cathedrals in Italy for its black and white marble façade, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles, and equally decorative interior. On entering you’ll be immediately struck by the magnificent marble floors. Designed by Beccafumi (who is also to be thanked for the angel-decorated pillars), it took over 40 artists almost 200 years to complete the 52 biblical accounts it includes.
Other works of importance include Donatello’s bronze St John the Baptist (left transept) and the stunning marble pulpit decorated with statues of the Saints and Virgin and Child carved by Nicola Pisano in 1265. There are also two of his later works, Mary Magdalen and St Jerome, in the Bernini-designed Cappella Pontificia (on the right), along with the 13th-century Madonna del Voto in front of which the citizens of Siena delivered the “l’atto di votazione” on the eve of the famous battle of Monteaperti. From the cathedral interior you can also reach the Libreria Piccolomini (Mar-Oct, Mon-Sat, 9 am-7:30 pm, Sun and holidays, 1:30-7:30 pm, Nov-Feb, 10 am-1 pm, 2-5 pm, Euro 1.50). Its fresh-looking frescoes were painted in 1502-07 by Pinturicchio to illustrate the life of Pope Pius II.
RSS
Trending Themes:
Guides to Popular Ski Resorts
-
Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More
-
Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More
-
Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More
-
Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More
-
Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More
-
St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More
-
Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More
-
St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More
-
Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More
