Museo Civico, Art museum in Palazzo Pubblico, Siena, Italy
Description
The Museo Civico occupies the first floor of Palazzo Pubblico and displays medieval and Renaissance frescoes across several decorated rooms. The collection spans multiple centuries and documents the artistic evolution of the city through its most important works.
History
The building dates to the 1300s and originally served as the seat of the city council before becoming a museum. Preserving the original council chambers documents how medieval Siena governed itself through these historic rooms.
Culture
The Sala del Mappamondo displays Simone Martini's Maestà, a devotional image showing Madonna with saints, alongside an equestrian portrait of military captain Guidoriccio da Fogliano. These works side by side reflect how Siena balanced religious authority with earthly power during the 1300s.
Practical
The museum is reached through the Cortile del Podestà entrance from Piazza del Campo, which offers wheelchair access. Visiting fits naturally into a walk through the city center since the building sits in Siena's heart.
Did you know?
Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes of the Allegories of Good and Bad Government from 1338 rank among the earliest secular painting cycles of the medieval world. These works expressed political ideas through images rather than words, which was groundbreaking for the time.
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Piazza del Campo
59 m
Torre del Mangia
14 m
Palazzo Pubblico
25 m
Fonte Gaia
76 m
Loggia della Mercanzia
115 m
Palazzo Chigi-Saracini
158 m
Palazzo Piccolomini
116 m
Palazzo Sansedoni, Siena
94 m
Cappella di Piazza
11 m
San Martino
128 m
Logge del Papa
128 m
Teatro dei Rozzi
172 m
Teatro Comunale dei Rinnovati
23 m
Archivio di Stato di Siena
110 m
Palazzo Patrizi
111 m
Palazzo Chigi Zondadari
84 m
San Vigilio
171 m
Palazzo Bindi Sergardi
173 m
Historic Centre of Siena
60 m
Palazzo Piccolomini-Clementini
137 m
San Giovanni Battista (Siena)
179 m
Torre di Roccabruna
120 m
Sant’Antonio da Padova (Siena)
176 m
Torre delle Sette Seghinelle
121 m
Oratorio dell'Arciconfraternita della Misericordia
177 m
San Niccolò in Sasso
173 m
Archivio e percorso storico dell'università di Siena
119 m
Fonte di Pantaneto
156 mDiscover hidden gems everywhere you go!
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