Siena

Siena is a historic city in Tuscany, Italy, whose medieval center preserves a distinctive civic landscape and whose neighborhoods compete in the Palio horse race.

Piazza del Campo: Siena’s shell-shaped central square, the site of civic ceremonies and the Palio. The square is the Palio’s racetrack and the setting of Siena’s civic life.
Republic of Siena: An independent Tuscan state centered on Siena that existed from the Middle Ages until its conquest by Florence in 1555. The republic shaped the city’s government, public buildings, and political identity.
Duccio: A Sienese painter active around 1300, best known for the Maestà altarpiece. His Maestà was commissioned for Siena Cathedral and became a landmark of local painting.
Contrade of Siena: Seventeen historic Siena districts, each with its own emblem, colors, institutions, and social traditions. Contrade organize the rivalries and community ties that sustain the Palio.
Palio di Siena: A twice-yearly bareback horse race in which Siena’s contrade compete around Piazza del Campo. This race is the city’s best-known recurring spectacle and a living expression of contrada rivalries.
Battle of Montaperti: A 1260 battle in which Siena’s forces defeated Florence’s army during the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines. The victory became a defining memory of Siena’s rivalry with Florence.
Simone Martini: A Sienese painter of the fourteenth century known for elegant Gothic figures and courtly imagery. His frescoes in the Palazzo Pubblico helped define Siena’s distinctive civic art.
Sienese School: A tradition of painting centered on Siena, especially prominent from the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries. Its distinctive style made Siena a major center of Italian painting.
Siena Cathedral: A Gothic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Siena. Its architecture and artworks embody the wealth and religious ambition of medieval Siena.
Florentine Republic: A city-state centered on Florence that competed with Siena for power in medieval and Renaissance Tuscany. Florence was Siena’s chief political rival and ultimately absorbed its territory.

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