Why go
Commissioned by the Sienese pope Alexander VII, the chapel shows a later generation reshaping part of the cathedral for devotion. Bernini's Saint Jerome and Mary Magdalene stand among its marble figures, while the Madonna del Voto remains its focal image. Compare the circular, gilded space with the cathedral's striped medieval interior.
The full story
The Chigi Chapel was added to the cathedral in the seventeenth century, replacing an earlier chapel in the right transept. Pope Alexander VII, a member of Siena's Chigi family, commissioned the project, and its design is associated with Gian Lorenzo Bernini. A circular plan and gilded dome distinguish it from the larger medieval church. At the back is the Madonna del Voto, a Marian image linked in Sienese tradition to the city's dedication before the 1260 battle of Montaperti. Two marble figures in the chapel, Saint Jerome and Mary Magdalene, are by Bernini; other saints complete the group. The contrast is the point of a close visit. You can see an older devotional image framed by a much later Baroque setting, with sculpture and architecture guiding attention toward it. Look back into the transept afterward to appreciate how deliberately different the chapel feels from the rest of the cathedral.