Chapter 1 / Siena
Palazzo Pubblico.
Start with Palazzo Pubblico. Let a detail decide which thread you follow next.
Pause here. What detail would you keep from this place?
Outdoor walks and façade observations. Interior admission is not included.
The full story
Siena's civic palace turns the city's former government into a visible story. Visit its frescoed rooms for Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good Government cycle, then step outside to read the façade against the Campo.
Palazzo Pubblico is the strongest interior stop for understanding Siena as a medieval republic. The frescoes commissioned for its governing rooms show political ideals in images, while the palace's curved brick façade completes the shape of Piazza del Campo. This is a different experience from the cathedral: civic power and public life take centre stage.
- Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good Government frescoes turn civic ideas into images.
- The Sala del Mappamondo is one of the palace's principal painted rooms.
- Outside, the façade follows the curve of Piazza del Campo.
Allow about 75 minutes for the civic rooms and a second look at the façade from the square.
Treat Torre del Mangia as a separate climb with its own access conditions.
What is pulling you next?
Another door into this story
