Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/55

 SIENA 39 (afterwards Pius III.) in honour of his uncle, Pius II. Here are Pinturicchio's famous frescos of scenes from the life of the latter pontiff and the collection of choir books (supported on sculptured desks) with splendid illuminations by Sienese and other artists. The church of San Giovanni, the ancient baptistery, beneath the cathedral is approached by an outer flight of marble steps built in 1451. It has a beautiful facade designed by Giovanni cli Mino del Pellicciaio in 1382, and a marvellous font with bas-reliefs by Dona- tello, Ghiberti, Giacomo della Quercia, and other loth-century sculp- Churclies. tors. The other churches are the Collegiata di Provenzano, a vast building of some elegance, designed by Schifardini (1594) ; Sant' Agostino, rebuilt by Vanvitelli in 1755, containing a Cruci- fixion and Saints by Perugino, a Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni, the Coming of the Magi by Sodoma, and a St Antony by Spagnoletto or his school ; the beautiful church of the Scrvitcs (15th century), which contains another Massacre of the Innocents by Matteo di Giovanni and other good examples of the Sienese school ; San Francesco, designed by Agostino and Agnolo about 1326, and now (1887) being restored, which once possessed many fine paintings by Duccio Buoninsegna, Lorenzetti, Sodoma, and Beccafumi, but some of these perished in the great fire of 1655, and the rest were removed to the Institute of Fine Arts after 1862 during the temporary desecration of the church ; San Domenico, a fine 13th-century building with a single nave and transept, con- taining Sodoma's splendid fresco the Swoon of St Catherine, the Madonna of Guido da Siena, and a crucifix by Sano di Pietro. This church crowns the Fontebranda hill above the famous fountain of that name immortalized by Dante, and in a steep lane below stands the house of St Catherine, now converted into a church and oratory, and maintained at the expense of the inhabitants of the Contrada dell' Oca. It contains some good pictures by Pacchia and other works of art, but is chiefly visited for its historic interest and as a striking memorial of the characteristic piety of the Sienese. Munici- The communal palace in the Piazza del Campo was begun in pal build- 1288 and finished in 1309. It is built of brick, is a fine specimen ings. of Pointed Gothic, and was designed by Agostino and Agnolo. The light and elegant tower (Torre del Mangia) soaring from one side of the palace was begun in 1325, and the chapel standing at its foot, raised at the expense of the Opera del Duomo as a public thank-offering after the plague of 1348, dates from 1352. This grand old palace has other attractions besides the beauty of its architecture, for its interior is lined Avith works of art. The atrium has a fresco by Bartolo di Fredi and the two ground-floor halls contain a Coronation of the Virgin by Sano di Pietro and a splendid Resurrection by Sodoma. In the Sala dei Nove or della Pace above are the noble allegorical frescos of Ambrogio Lorenzetti re- presenting the effects of just and unjust government ; the Sala delle Balestre or del Mappamondo is painted by Simone di Martino (Memmi) and others, the Cappella della Signoria by Taddeo di Bartolo, and the Sala del Concistorio by Beccaiunii. Another hall is now being prepared in memory of Victor Emmanuel II., and its frescos and decorations are to be entrusted exclusively to Sienese artists. The former hall of the grand council, built in 1327, was converted into the chief theatre of Siena by Riccio in 1560, and, after being twice burnt, was rebuilt in 1753 from Bibbiena's designs. Another Sienese theatre, the Rozzi, in Piazza San Pellegrino, de- signed by A. Doveri and erected in 1816, although modern, has an historic interest as the work of an academy dating from the 16th century, called the Congrega de' Rozzi, that played an import- ant part in the history of the Italian comic stage. Palaces, The city is adorned by many other noble edifices both public &c. and private, of which we will mention the following palaces the Tolomei (1205) ; Buonsignori, formerly Tegliacci, an elegant 14th- century construction, restored in 1848 ; Grottanelli, formerly Pecci and anciently the residence of the captain of war, recently restored in its original style ; Sansedoni ; Marsilii ; Piccolomini, now be- longing to the Government and containing the state archives ; Piccolomini delle Papesse, like the other Piccolomini mansion, de- signed by Bernardo Kossellino, and now the national bank ; the enormous block of the Monte de' Paschi, enlarged and partly re- built in the original style between 1877 and 1881, and including the old Dogana and Spannocchi palaces ; the Loggia di Mercanzia (15th century), now a club ; the Loggia del Papa, erected by Pius II. ; and other fine buildings. We must also mention the two celebrated fountains, Fonte Gaia and Fontebranda ; the Fonte Nuova, near Porta Ovile, by Camaino di Crescentino also deserves notice. Thanks to all these architectural treasures, the narrow Sienese streets with their many windings and steep ascents are full of pic- turesque charm, and, together with the collections of excellent paintings, foster the local pride of the inhabitants and preserve their taste and feeling for art. History. The origin of Siena, like that of other Italian cities, is lost in a mist of legendary tradition. It was prob- ably founded by the Etruscans, and then falling under the Roman rule became a colony in the reign of Augustus, or a little earlier, and was distinguished by the name of Sxna Julia. Few memorials' of the Roman era or of the first centuries of Christianity have been preserved, and none at all of the interval preceding the Lombard period. We have documentary evidence that during this epoch, in the reign of Rotaris (or Rotari), there was a bishop of Siena named Mouro. Attempts to trace earlier bishops as far back as the 5th century have yielded only vague and contradictory results. Under the Lombards the civil government was in the hands of a gastaldo, under the Carolingians of a count, whose authority, by slow degrees and a course of events similar to what took place in other Italian communes, gave way to that of the bishop, whose power in turn gradually diminished and was superseded by that of the consuls and the commonwealth. We have written evidence of the consular government Struggle of Siena from 1125 to 1212; the number of consuls varied between from three to twelve. This government, formed of gentil- " d es uomini or nobles, did not remain unchanged throughout p the whole period, but was gradually forced to accept the participation of the popolani or lower classes, whose efforts to rise to power were continuous and determined. Thus in 1137 they obtained a third part of the govern- ment . by the reconstitution of the general council with 100 nobles and 50 popolani. In 1199 the institution of a foreign podesta gave a severe blow to the consular magistracy, which was soon extinguished; and in 1233 the people again rose against the nobles in the hope of ousting them entirely from office. The attempt was not completely successful ; but the Government was now equally divided between the two estates by the creation of a supreme magistracy of twenty-four citizens, twelve nobles and twelve popolani. During the rule of the nobles and the mixed rule of nobles and popolani the commune of Siena was enlarged by fortunate acquisitions of neighbour- ing lands and by the submission of feudal lords, such as the Scialenghi, Aldobrandeschi, Pannocchieschi, Visconti di Campiglia, ttc. Before long the reciprocal need of fresh territory and frontier disputes, especially concerning Poggi- bonsi and Montepulciano, led to an outbreak of hostilities between Florence and Siena. Thereupon, to spite the rival republic, the Sienese took the Ghibelline side, and the German emperors, beginning with Frederick Barbarossa, rewarded their fidelity by the grant of various privileges. During the 12th and 13th centuries there were con- War with tinued disturbances, petty wars, and hasty reconciliations Florence, between Florence and Siena, until in 1254-55 a more binding peace and alliance was concluded. But this treaty, in spite of its apparent stability, led in a few years to a fiercer struggle ; for in 1258 the Florentines complained that Siena had infringed its terms by giving refuge to the Ghibellines they had expelled, and on the refusal of the Sienese to yield to these just remonstrances both states made extensive preparations for war. Siena applied to Manfred, obtained from him a strong body of German horse, under the command of Count Giordano, and likewise sought the aid of its Ghibelline allies. Florence equipped a powerful citizen army, of which the original registers are still preserved in the volume entitled // Libra di Mont- aperti in the Florence archives. This army, led by the podesta of Florence and twelve burgher captains, set forth gaily on its march towards the enemy's territories in the middle of April 1260, and during its first campaign, ending 18th May, won an insignificant victory at Santa Petronilla, outside the walls of Siena. But in a second and more important campaign, in which the militia of the other Guelf towns of Tuscany took part, the Florentines were signally defeated at Montaperti on 4th September 1260. This defeat crushed the power of Florence for many years, reduced the city to desolation, and apparently annihilated