Description of the attraction
Palazzo Pubblico is a splendid palace in Siena, located in the main city square, Piazza del Campo. Its construction began in 1297 - initially it was assumed that the republican government, consisting of the head of the city of Podestà and the Council of Nine, would sit in the palace.
The exterior of the Palazzo is a fine example of medieval Italian architecture with influences from the Gothic style. The lower floor is built of stone, and the upper crenellated ones are made of bricks. The facade of the palace is somewhat concave inward, which is predetermined by the slight bulge of the Piazza del Campo, the central element of which is the Palazzo. The bell tower - Torre del Mangia - was built in the first half of the 14th century and is decorated by Lippo Memmi. The tower was designed in such a way as to surpass in height the tower of neighboring Florence - the main competitor of Siena. At the time, Torre del Mangia was the tallest building in Italy. In the middle of the 14th century, it was equipped with a mechanical watch.
Almost every large room of the Palazzo Pubblico is decorated with frescoes that are quite uncharacteristic for that period, since they were painted at the behest of the rulers of the city, and not at the behest of a church or religious brotherhood. Another unusual feature of these frescoes is that many of them depict secular objects rather than religious ones, which was typical of 14th century Italian art. The most famous frescoes of the Palazzo are those located in the Room of Nine - they are by Ambrogio Lorenzetti and are collectively known as "Allegory and Consequences of Good and Bad Government." In the scene depicting Good Government, you can see a thriving city with people dancing in the streets, and under Bad Government, crime is rampant, and sick people roam the ruined city. Unfortunately, this cycle, like many of the Palazzo's other frescoes, is severely damaged. One of the reasons for this is that the building once housed a storage facility for salt, which absorbed all the moisture from the walls, thereby causing the plaster to dry out and delamination of the frescoes.
