Inside the Palazzo Pubblico a space to admire the wonders of art.
Housed on the first floor of the Palazzo Pubblico, the Civic Museum is accessed from the courtyard of the Podestà. The different rooms of the museum are a journey
through the history of Siena and house great works of art created over the centuries.
The exhibition starts with a large picture gallery and continues with the Risorgimento Hall, where you can admire a monumental cycle of frescoes depicting episodes from the life of Victor Emmanuel II, the first sovereign of unified Italy.
Pass through the two adjoining rooms of the Baliawith wall paintings by Spinello Aretino and Martino di Bartolomeo from the 15th century, and the Cardinals room with its collection of valuable carved coffers. Finally, reach the Concistoro room, famous for its vault painted by Domenico Beccafumi between 1529 and 1535, with episodes of civic virtue taken from Greek and Roman history.
On the right,walk along a corridor with an early 15th century Chapel on the left decorated by the painter Taddeo di Bartolo. Reach the World Map Room named after the lost parchment disc on which Ambrogio Lorenzetti painted the possessions of the Sienese state and the then known world in 1344. This is the largest room in the Palazzo Pubblico which was intended for meetings of the General Council of the Republic from the very beginning.
The short wall on the left houses the famous Maestà, painted by Simone Martini between 1315 and 1321, one of the greatest masterpieces of European Gothic style. Meanwhile, on the upper register of the opposite wall, the same Simone painted the conquest of Montemassi Castle in Maremma by the war captain Guidoriccio da Fogliano in 1328 as testament of the political and military successes achieved by the Sienese State in those years.
The adjacent room is called the Hall of Peace or Good Government because of the explicit message expressed there. The extensive cycle of frescoes that can be found here, painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between 1338 and 1339, depicts the Allegory of the government of the ‘Nine’ lords of Siena (1287- 1355) and their effects on the city and the countryside. The visit ends with the Hall of Pillars, where various works of Sienese painting and sculpture from the 14th and 15th centuries are preserved.
Also part of the museum tour is the monumental 14th-century loggia that offers a panoramic view of the valley behind the palace.
Opening hours:
From 1 November to 28 February
: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (ticket office closes and last admission 5:15 pm)
Christmas – closed
New Years Eve: 12:00 am – 6:00 pm (ticket office closes and last admission 5:15 pm)
From 1 March to 31 October*
: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm (ticket office closes and last admission 6:15 pm)
Contact details
Tel: 0577 292232
Email: museocivico@comune.siena.it
