The Duomo dell'Assunta

From Piazza del Campo, crossing Via di Città (the most important medieval street in Siena, and the street which faces some of the most noble buildings of the city) you reach the magnificent Duoma dell'Assunta, which, from a stairway, looks over the powerful Piazza of the same name, Piazza del Duomo. Dedicated to the Assumption and erected in Sienese Gothic style, the Duomo was the result of a long and hard edification, which took place between the 12th and 14th centuries. The façade is all in white marble with some parts in red Sienese marble and dark green marble from Prato. Embellished with sculptural decorations, it appears as an animated building of rare elegance. It is subdivided into two rows: the inferior part is Romanesque with Gothic influence and is open by three very lavish portals embellished with bas-reliefs and colonnades; the upper part, in "florid Gothic" style and also lavish, presents a curious architectural defect in the pillars of the rose window, deriving from an unsuccessful attempt to reproduce the rose window of the Duomo of Oriveto. However, the rose window that is there is beautiful, located at the center of the façade and surrounded by busts of patriarchs and prophets. The building is characterized by the use of layers of black-white marble, in reference to the "Sienese 'balzana'", which redid the external and internal walls, together with the columns of the naves, the umpteenth architectural metaphor of the Sienese civil power. Then, there is the magnificent bell tower, Romanesque and with black-white layers, and open by windows one-by-one augmented by single-lancet and six-light windows, which culminate with an octagonal pyramid spiral. The solemn interior, Latin-cross pattern with three naves with hexagonal dome, holds unique works of art, among which at least the bas-reliefs of the counterfaçade, done by various masters, the frescoes of PInturicchio and other artists in the Renaissance San Giovanni Battista Chapel and Chapel of Madonna del Voto, done by Bernini, should be mentioned. Also worth mentioning is the splendid Piccolomini Libreria, done in frescoes by Pinturicchio, which holds a lovely sculpture depicting the Tre Grazie, dating back to the 3rd century. To note are the attractive pavement (on which numerous artists worked, including Pinturicchio) divided in 56 black, white, and colored marble squares, and characterized by esoteric and symbolic references: admonitions, these, probably also confirmed by the presence, on the external side of the Cathedral, of a Sator, mysterious symbol traced back to the Templar Knights.
On the same widening faces the interesting Spedale di Santa Maria della Scala (11th-15th cent.), which on the inside houses, among the various works of art, valuable 15th-century frescoes by Taddeo di Bartolo. In addition, in the "Terzo di Città", original center of Siena, to be noted is the presence of a wonderful National Picture Gallery. Next to the Duomo, between the sacred buildings, rise the church of San Domenico (13th-15th cent.), austere and majestic Cistercian construction (inside are Sodoma frescoes) and the church of Santa Maria dei Servi (13th-16th cent.), in an attractive panoramic position above Siena, the church of San Francesco, Gothic and built in the unusual form of an Egyptian cross (inside are more Sodoma frescoes), and the church of Sant'Agostino, built in the 13th-century but completely renovated in the 18th century following a destructive fire. Finally, you cannot go without mentioning Santa Caterina, famous daughter of Siena, whose house is still visible in the Terzo of Camollia, District of Santa Caterina. An oratory-church is dedicated to the saint in the Quarter of Oca. One last curiosity is the so-called "Bottini", a system of underground paths from the 12th century for supplying water to homes. It extends for over 25 km beyond the city and its visit allows you to take an unusual trip into medieval technology.