{"id":937,"date":"2023-12-28T00:33:25","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T23:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/?page_id=937"},"modified":"2023-12-28T00:33:27","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T23:33:27","slug":"siena","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bestfreetour.com\/es\/siena\/","title":{"rendered":"Siena"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Siena
Siena Free Tour<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Siena Free Tour<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Antiquity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

See also: Timeline of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siena, like other Tuscan<\/a> hill towns, was first settled in the time of the Etruscans<\/a> (c. 900\u2013400 BC) when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina. A Roman<\/a> town called Saena Julia<\/em> was founded at the site in the time of the Emperor Augustus<\/a>.[15]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to local legend, Siena was founded by Senius and Aschius<\/a>, two sons of Remus<\/a> and thus nephews of Romulus<\/a>, after whom Rome was named. Supposedly after their father’s murder by Romulus, they fled Rome, taking with them the statue of the she-wolf suckling the infants (Capitoline Wolf<\/a>), thus appropriating that symbol for the town.[16]<\/a><\/sup> Additionally they rode white and black horses, giving rise to the Balzana<\/em>, or coat of arms of Siena with a white band atop a dark band. Some claim the name Siena derives from Senius. Other etymologies derive the name from the Etruscan family name Saina<\/em>, the Roman family name Saenii<\/em>, or the Latin<\/a> word senex<\/em> “old” or its derived form seneo<\/em> “to be old”.[17]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first known document of the Sienese community dates back to 70 AD: The Roman Senator<\/a> Manlio Patruito reported to Rome<\/a> that he had been ridiculed with a fake funeral during his official visit to Saena Iulia, a small military colony in Tuscia. The Roman Senate decided to punish the main culprits and to severely call the Sienese to greater respect for Roman authority.[18]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the third century the Christianization<\/a> of the territory also took place by Sant’Ansano<\/a>, known precisely as the “Baptizer of the Sienese”, who was in fact punished by the Roman authorities governing Siena with the test of fire and boiling oil, imprisonment and finally beheading. During the Middle Ages he will therefore be named patron saint of Siena and the day of his liturgical anniversary will mark the beginning of the “Contrada Year”.[19]<\/a><\/sup>[20]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Middle Ages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Main article: Republic of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feudal<\/a> power waned, however, and by the death of Countess Matilda<\/a> in 1115 the border territory of the March of Tuscany<\/a> which had been under the control of her family, the Canossa, broke up into several autonomous regions. This ultimately resulted in the creation of the Republic of Siena<\/a>.[15]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Republic existed for over four hundred years, from the 12th century until 1555. During the golden age of Siena before the Black Death<\/a> in 1348, the city was home to 50,000 people.[21]<\/a><\/sup> A major economic centre and among the most important cities in Europe, as well as the main political, economic, and artistic rival of its neighboring city of Florence.[6]<\/a><\/sup>[22]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1547 to 1552, the Spanish-installed governor of Siena was Diego Hurtado de Mendoza<\/a>, until he was ousted by a Sienese revolt, which reestablished the Sienese Republic. In the Italian War of 1551\u201359<\/a>, the republic was defeated by the rival Florence<\/a> in alliance with the Spanish crown. After 18 months of resistance, Siena surrendered to Spain on 17 April 1555, marking the end of the republic.[23]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medicean period<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Main article: Grand Duchy of Tuscany<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the fall of the Republic, a few Sienese led by the Florentine exile Piero Strozzi<\/a>, not wanting to accept the fall of the Republic, took refuge in Montalcino<\/a>, creating the Republic of Siena sheltered in Montalcino. It lived until 31 May 1559 when it was betrayed by the French allies, whom Siena had always supported, concluding with the Peace of Cateau Cambr\u00e9sis<\/a> with Charles V<\/a>, which effectively ceded the Republic to the Medici.[24]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House of Medici<\/a>, apart from the brief parenthesis of Ferdinando I<\/a>, who tried to create an organized state, were not able to give a stable structure to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany<\/a>, keeping almost unchanged the division between the so-called Old State, i.e. Florence, and the New State, i.e. Siena and the southern part up to Pitigliano<\/a>, with different laws and taxes. With the death of Gian Gastone de’ Medici<\/a>, (1737), who had no children, the Medici dynasty ended and the Grand Duchy passed into the hands of the Habsburg-Lorraine dinasty<\/a> who kept it until 1799.[24]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late modern period<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After the Napoleonic period<\/a> and the Risorgimento<\/a> uprisings, Siena was the first city in Tuscany, in 1859, to vote in favour of annexation to the Kingdom of Italy<\/a>.[25]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geography<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Siena is located in the central part of Tuscany<\/a>, in the middle of a vast hilly landscape between the Arbia<\/a> river valley (south), the Merse<\/a> valley (south-west), the Elsa valley (north), the Chianti<\/a> hills (north-east), the Montagnola Senese (west) and the Crete Senesi<\/a> (south-east). The city lies at 322 m (1,056 ft) above sea level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Siena has a typical inland Mediterranean climate. Average rainfall is 750 mm (29.5 in), with the maximum in November and the minimum in July. July is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 22.2 \u00b0C (72.0 \u00b0F), and January the coldest.[26]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The main activities are tourism, services, agriculture, handicrafts and light industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009 agricultural activity comprised 919 companies with a total area of 10.755 square kilometres (4.153 sq mi) for a usable agricultural area<\/a> of 6.954 square kilometres (2.685 sq mi) or about 1\u204430 of the total municipal area (data ISTAT<\/a> for the 2000 Agriculture Census V<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is little manufacturing in the city. One exception is the seasonal confectionery<\/a> industry, which produces local specialities including panforte<\/a>, ricciarelli<\/a> and cavallucci<\/a> at Christmas, and pane co’ santi<\/a> for I Santi<\/a> on 1 November and I Morti<\/a> on the following day.[citation needed<\/a><\/em>]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area has also seen a growth in biotechnology<\/a>. The Centenary Institute Sieroterapico Achille Sclavo used to be Swiss-owned, operating under the company name, Novartis<\/a> Vaccines. Novartis developed and produced vaccines and employed about a thousand people. In 2015, the research plant in Siena became part of Glaxo Smith Kline<\/a>, as part of a deal between Novartis<\/a> and this firm.[27]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

See also: List of mayors of Siena<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Culture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contrade<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Main article: Contrade di Siena<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Siena retains a ward-centric culture from medieval times. Each ward (contrada<\/em>) is represented by an animal or mascot and has its own boundary and distinct identity. Ward rivalries are most rampant during the annual horse race<\/a> (Palio) in the Piazza del Campo.[28]<\/a><\/sup> There are 17 wards (contrada): Aquila, Bruco, Chiocciola, Civetta, Drago, Giraffa, Istrice, Leocorno, Lupa, Nicchio, Oca, Onda, Pantera, Selva, Tartuca, Torre, Valdimontone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Main article: Palio di Siena<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palio di Siena<\/a> is a traditional medieval horse race<\/a> run around the Piazza del Campo twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. The event is attended by large crowds, and is widely televised. Ten randomly selected from 17 Contrade<\/a> (which are city neighbourhoods originally formed as battalions<\/a> for the city’s defence) vie for the trophy: a painted banner, or Palio<\/a><\/em> bearing an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over the centuries, Siena has had a rich tradition of arts and artists. The list of artists from the Sienese School<\/a> include Duccio<\/a> and his student Simone Martini<\/a>, Pietro Lorenzetti<\/a> and Martino di Bartolomeo<\/a>. A number of well-known works of Renaissance<\/a> and High Renaissance<\/a> art still remain in galleries or churches in Siena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Church of San Domenico<\/em> contains art by Guido da Siena<\/a>, dating to the mid-13th century. Duccio’s Maest\u00e0<\/em><\/a>, which was commissioned by the City of Siena in 1308, was instrumental in leading Italian painting away from the hieratic representations of Byzantine art<\/a> and directing it towards more direct presentations of reality. And his Madonna and Child with Saints<\/em> polyptych<\/a>, painted between 1311 and 1318, remains at the city’s Pinacoteca Nazionale<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pinacoteca also includes several works by Domenico Beccafumi<\/a>, as well as art by Lorenzo Lotto<\/a>, Domenico di Bartolo<\/a> and Fra Bartolomeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main sights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Siena Cathedral<\/a><\/strong> (Duomo<\/a><\/em>), begun in the 12th century, is a masterpiece of Italian Romanesque<\/a>\u2013Gothic architecture<\/a>. Its main fa\u00e7ade was completed in 1380 with a nave oriented northeast\u2013southwest. A proposed expansion of the eastern transept would have transformed the church into an ambitiously massive basilica, the largest then in the world, with an east\u2013west nave. However, the scarcity of funds, in part due to war and the Black Death, truncated the project. Two walls of this expanded eastern transept remain; through an internal staircase, visitors can climb for a grand view of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Siena Cathedral Pulpit<\/a> is an octagonal 13th-century masterpiece sculpted by Nicola Pisano<\/a> with lion pedestals and biblical bas-relief panels. The inlaid marble mosaic floor of the cathedral, designed and laboured on by many artists, is among the most elaborate in Italy. The Sacristy and Piccolomini library have well-preserved Renaissance<\/a> frescos by Ghirlandaio<\/a> and Pinturicchio<\/a> respectively. Other sculptors active in the church and in the subterranean baptistry<\/a> are Donatello<\/a>, Lorenzo Ghiberti<\/a>, Jacopo della Quercia<\/a> and others. The Museo dell’Opera del Duomo contains Duccio’s famous Maest\u00e0<\/a><\/em> (1308\u201311) and various other works by Sienese masters. More Sienese paintings are to be found in the Pinacoteca, e.g. 13th-century works by Dietisalvi di Speme<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Piazza del Campo<\/a><\/strong>, the shell-shaped town square, unfurls before the Palazzo Pubblico<\/a> with its tall Torre del Mangia<\/a>. This is part of the site for the Palio<\/em> horse race. The Palazzo Pubblico, itself a great work of architecture, houses yet another important art museum. Included within the museum is Ambrogio Lorenzetti<\/a>‘s frescoes depicting the Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government<\/em> and also some of the finest frescoes of Simone Martini<\/a> and Pietro Lorenzetti<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Palazzo Salimbeni<\/a><\/strong>, located in a piazza of the same name, was the original headquarters and remains in possession of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena<\/a>, one of the oldest banks in continuous existence in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Housed in the notable Gothic<\/a> Palazzo Chigi-Saracini<\/a> on Via di Citt\u00e0 is the Accademia Musicale Chigiana<\/a>, Siena’s conservatory of music<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other churches in the city include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n