Siena City Hall

The Palazzo Pubblico was built between approximately 1297 and 1310 by the Governo dei Nove (Government of the Nine) of the Republic of Siena, as their administrative centre. The building dominates Piazza del Campo with its stone-and-brick façade and the iconic Torre del Mangia, which was added in the fourteenth century, like the marble Chapel, built in 1352 to thank the Madonna for the end of the plague that had devastated the city for almost a decade.

The Museo Civico (Civic Museum) is on the first floor. It contains masterpieces of Sienese art, including the Effects of Good Government and Bad Government, the series of frescos by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. They show a city where peace reigns thanks to good government, in contrast with a view of the same city governed badly by a corrupt administration, bringing misery and ruin. In the museum you can also see one of the most important fourteenth-century works in Italy: La maestà (Majesty) by Simone Martini, showing the Madonna and Child surrounded by angels and saints. Also on the first floor is the splendid Teatro dei Rinnovati (Theatre of the Accademia dei Rinnovati), while on the second floor is the sala del Consiglio Comunale (Town Council room) and the impressive Loggia dei Nove (Loggia of the Nine) which has a splendid view over the Piazza del Mercato (Market Square) and its background, including the Orto de’ Pecci (Pecci Garden). From here, on clear days, you can see right across the countryside south of Siena to the peaks of Monte Amiata (Mount Amiata).