Getting There
TrenItalia has service to Siena from Rome with connections in either Grossetto or Chiusi and travel time is approximately three hours.
Example schedules:
Leaving Roma Termini 1410 connecting in Grossetto arriving Siena at 1713
Leaving Siena 1404 connecting in Chiusi arriving Roma Termini at 1724
Fares: First Class €56.60 return Second Class €55.60
Further information and booking is available at Trenitalia.
Staying There
There are a number of fine hotels in the Centro Storico within walking distance of all the sights. Check out availability and make bookings at either: Booking.com or Venere.com.
Travel Highlights
The Cathedral of Siena
Amongst the many splendours of Sienna the Duomo is the unsurpassed jewel. Having experienced the glory of the Piazza del Campo most visitors don't expect it will be outdone by the spectacular interior behind the stupendous black and white frontage. Dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption it is like a precious casket filled with jewels.
A floor is rich mixture of esoteric symbols and religious stories: for example all the sibyls of history, the Slaughter of theInnocents, King David, Hermes Trismegist, the life of Moses and the Sacrifice of Iefte. In the left aisle, just before the transept, there’s the Piccolomini Library, frescoed by Pinturicchio, that, in spite of its name, never housed the intended collection of Pope Pio II.
Just beyond the library there’s the Piccolomini Chapel, in which there are four statues adorning the inferior niches created by Michelangelo who worked there from 1501 to 1504. The pulpit by Nicola Pisano, incised with Biblical scense, deserves special attention.
Visiting hours: From 01/03 to 31/05 – 10,30 am - 7,30 pm
Public holiday 1,30 pm – 5,30 pm
Tickets: €3,00
Battistero di San Giovanni
Competing in beauty with the Cathedral is the Baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist situated behind it. Built it 1325 it has witnessed the baptisms of many of the Siennese.
The nave and the two aisles were frescoed by Benvenuto di Giovanni ( “The miracles of Saint Anthony of Padova” – 1460), Pietro degli Orioli (“The washing of the feet”) and Lorenzo di Pietro known as “il Vecchietta” (he paitned the frescos on the vault representing “The articles of Faith”between 1447 and 1450). But the glory of the baptistery is the central font made of bronze and marble. It was created by the great artists of the time: Jacopo della Quercia, Giovanni di Turino, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello. The latter cast two of the six bronzed angels which decorate the canopy.
Visiting hours: From 01/03 to 31/05: 9,30 am – 7 pm
Closed on: 1st January, 25th December
Tickets: €3,00
Palazzo Pubblico
For 700 years the seat of the Siennse government the Palazzo Pubblico is still the centre of politics in the city. Created by the "Government of the Nine" who were the driving force behind the creation of much of what makes the city the magnificent city seen today.
It is considered one of the most beautiful civil palaces in Italy and has served as a model for other town halls throughout the world. It has always been admired for its harmony and majestic. This beauty was so apparent during its construction that the government passed an edict concerning other palaces built in the square. The were mandated to be of great beauty but not so as to outshine their splendid neighbour.
Part of the Palace is the Civic Museum which houses Ambrogio Lorenzetti's famed allegories of Good and Bad government. Commissioned by the Nine it was one of the first frescoes to be of a secular rather than religious nature. However the Museum also displays Simone Martinti's glorious "Virgin in Majesty" displaying the city's devotion to Our Layd.
Visiting hours: 16 March – 31 October 10 am – 7 pm
Tickets: Full ticket €7,50, with reservation €6,50.
Reduced ticket €4,50, with reservation €3,50 (students, over 65, military and invalids)
Torre del Mangia
Vertigo suffers may not make up all 400 steps to the top of the 88 meter high Torre del Mangia but it is worth the climb for the spectacular view of the Piazza, Cathedral and the city and countryscape spread out around it. The tower takes its name from Giovanni di Balduccio, first keeper of the tower, also known as “mangiaguadagni” because he spent all of his money on food. At the four corners of the tower there are stones on which are engraved sentences in Latin and Hebraic tasking the Almighty to keep away lightening and storms from the tower.
Visiting hours: 1st March to the 16th October, everyday from 10 am to 7 pm (the ticket office closes at 6,15 pm)
Tickets: €7 or €12 (if including visit to the Civic Museum).
Members and friends are reminded that arrangements are their own responsibility but it would be fun to meet for wining, dining and touring.
