Why go
The city's history makes the Palazzo Pubblico more than a handsome façade. Siena grew through trade and pilgrimage, governed itself as a republic for centuries, and recorded its civic ideals in art. Its surrender to Florence's Spanish-backed forces in 1555 gives the surviving center a sharper political meaning.
The full story
Siena began as an Etruscan settlement and later became the Roman town of Saena Julia. A local foundation legend ties it to Senius, son of Remus; images of the she-wolf with Romulus and Remus still appear around the city. Treat the emblem as a story Siena tells about itself, rather than a literal account of its founding. Its position gained importance in the early medieval period as routes through the region shifted. Trade and pilgrims moving toward Rome helped the town grow. After feudal authority weakened, Siena developed into a republic that endured from the late 11th century until 1555. The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and the Palazzo Pubblico make that civic identity tangible. Inside the palace, Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes of good and bad government turn political choices into images. The Black Death of 1348 interrupted Siena's expansion. Later conflict with Florence culminated in an 18-month siege; Siena surrendered in 1555 to Spanish forces allied with Florence. Walk from the Campo to the cathedral with that history in mind: the public square and the church express the ambitions of a city that once competed for power across Tuscany.
Useful to know
- See the Campo before entering the Palazzo Pubblico so the civic frescoes have a clear setting.
- Look for she-wolf imagery as a sign of Siena's foundation legend.