The naked lady in Via dei Rossi in Siena.
It’s not uncommon to come across curious and singular works in Siena. Sometimes you just have to take a side street or look up at the right moment to discover something special or unusual.
Walking down Via dei Rossi, a few minutes from the main street, you can discover a mysterious and undoubtedly bizzare work.
A naked lady looks out of the window and spies on the city from behind her curtains, heedless of the people who might see her, before her a pomegranate hangs from the window.
Artist Pier Luigi Olla, a master sculptor and goldsmith of the Sienese school, created this sculpture at the request of the Rector of the contrada del Bruco in 1995.
If you look closely, you will also be able to see the symbol of the contrada, a small caterpillar placed above the pomegranate dangling from the window.
There’s not much information on who this lady is, which contributes to making her even more mysterious.
The artist, Pistoiese by birth but Sienese by adoption, won the ‘Mangia’ gold medal in 1990 thanks to his artistic merit and decades of activity in the creation of accessories for the Palio di Siena (flags, costumes, heraldic symbols and sculptural figures). Pier Luigi Olla carries on the ancient tradition of Sienese sculpture and goldsmithing. He was born in Pistoia in 1939 but at a very young age moved to Siena, which would remain his home town, beginning an artistic career that would lead him to create works in different materials including bronze, ivory, gold, silver, terracotta, wood and marble.
